Johnson County Square’s only restaurant/bar faces uncertain future

OLATHE, Kan. — Days could be numbered for a staple in the heart of Olathe.

Vader’s Bar and Deli went through construction of the new Johnson County District Court and subsequent space created for Johnson County Square then the pandemic. But now after navigating through difficult times they feel they are being forced out by the City of Olathe.

When it comes to restaurants immediately surrounding the courthouse and central government area or any kind of nightlife, for a dozen years Vader’s has pretty much been the only option.

“I used to talk with my landlords 3-4 times a week about the future of downtown what it’s going to look like with the courthouse moving and Johnson County Square coming in. Never in a million years did I think I wouldn’t be a part of it,” Willie Vader explained.

The City of Olathe is Vader’s new landlord. It bought the building that contains three empty office fronts and the deli/ bar. It says it’s plans for the space include a potential restaurant or private business. In the meantime Vader’s lease expired Monday, and he says no long term lease was offered.

“Right now I’m month to month and its tough to staff. What do I tell my employees and its hard to tell your customers I don’t know how long I’ll be here,” he explained.

It’s disappointing for Angie Trowbridge who traveled more than a half hour for gluten free chicken tenders Tuesday. Like the owner’s daughter, she has celiac disease.

“It would be a big hole because for me and comments I see online because people feel safe coming here. Trying to find another place, because I don’t know of another place that does fried chicken like they do,” Trowbridge said.

Vader says he feels badly for what he calls a loyal gluten free community and is proud to have been a part of downtown Olathe’s transformation from the beginning.

“I think I showed surrounding people, other businesses, the city that downtown Olathe is a viable spot,” Vader explained.

But he’s sad it looks like he won’t get to see it through.

“I want to keep doing what I do and I just hate losing it this way,” Vader said with a tear in his eye.

Vader says he sunk roughly $200,000 into renovations to turn the Olathe office location in to a deli and bar. He’s set up a GoFundMe in hopes of being able to transform a Shawnee business in to a new home for Vader’s.

The City of Olathe says they are still meeting with potential developers and there’s no timetable for when renovations could begin. According to the city, Vader’s will have the option for month to month leases through the end of September.

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