Is KC's Bar & Grill Still Open? Bar Rescue Update (Shawnee, KS)

On the "Critters and Quitters" episode of Bar Rescue (aired March 16, 2014), Jon Taffer visited KC's Bar and Grill, a members-only private club in Shawnee, Kansas that owner Bill had run since 2002. To get around Kansas's indoor smoking ban, the bar operated as a private club charging a small membership fee, a structure that had kept it profitable for years. By the time of filming, however, Bill had become less involved day to day, staff were seen drinking and smoking on shift, food was cooked in oil that had not been changed, and a raccoon was found loose inside the building on more than one occasion.

Manager Elizabeth, a longtime bartender, had an informal arrangement to eventually buy the bar from Bill, but a lawyer consulted during the episode determined the paperwork left her without legal protection, and she withdrew from the deal. Taffer brought in chef Tiffany Derry and mixologist Tony Devencenzi to retrain staff on pouring technique and food preparation, addressed the pest issue, and rebranded the bar as Johnson County Line for its relaunch, adding a buffet and a membership sweepstakes; the reopening brought in twenty new member sign-ups. According to a detailed status review, Bill reverted the bar to a name close to its original, KC's Neighborhood Bar and Grill, not long after the episode aired, telling a customer in a public review response that the atmosphere introduced by the rescue did not fit the bar's existing membership base.

The bar also dropped Johnson County Line's dress code. As of that review, KC's Neighborhood Bar and Grill continued operating at 10201 W 47th St, Shawnee, KS under the members-only model, with a Google ratings average around 4 stars based on reviews spanning 2021 and 2022, and continued to post events such as live music and card-game nights on its Facebook page.