For those about to drink, we saloon you!
The Grainery Saloon serves Perry Lake vacationers and more
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
The Grainery Saloon doesn’t exactly occupy the ideal business location.
The road dead-ends into a lake. The town of Ozawkie has about 500 people — with a choice of four bars.
Needless to say, it’s the customer service that keeps ’em coming back.
“It’s just me insulting everyone,” says Jayna Paramore, who has been bartending at the establishment for 11 years.
“People expect it. If I’m nice then they’re going, ‘What’s wrong with you?’”
Paramore’s omnipresent one-liners – “we’re not cheap but we can be had” – are likely the draw for the locals who frequent the saloon every weekend. Also enticing are the $1.25 Taco Thursdays, the “cheapest pool tables in Jefferson County” (50 cents) and the ever-present chitchat.
“It’s a homey bar,” Paramore says. “You can’t not know a stranger because the booths just blend into each other.”
9252 Apple Valley Lane, Ozawkie, KS
The saloon is the only component of Apple Valley Farms still in operation. Formerly host to an antique shop and live theatre, owners Jeff and Allison Blodig closed the operation last summer and leased the saloon to retired Army Sgt. Major AJ Sharp.
Sharp, a former regular at the saloon, says he assumed ownership because he wanted to keep the bar open through the winter.
“I was retired for two years and sitting around with three golden retrievers and I kind of missed people contact,” he says. “Now I know why they close in the winter.”
Business has been slow but is expected to pick up after Memorial Day when the hikers, bikers and campers start coming around. The saloon is just a 1/4 mile from the Military Trail – a 30-mile hiking trail that winds all the way around Perry Lake. Also nearby are the Longview Campgrounds and a boat-access ramp.
Destination: The Grainery Saloon, Ozawkie
Roundtrip: 50 miles
Gas needed:
in 2006 Ford Explorer: $9
in 1998 Honda Civic: $3
in 1968 Chevy Camaro Rally Sport: $15
Take US Hwy 24/59 north out of Lawrence and follow Hwy 24 to Perry. Head north in Perry at road 1029, which becomes Ferguson Road as it crosses Perry Lake. Head west on 86th Street, which becomes Hamilton as it turns south.. The Grainery is 2.2 miles from your turn off Ferguson Road.
Driving directions and map from Lawrence.
Open Thursdays (Taco Night) 5pm-11pm and Fridays and Saturdays 5pm-2am. A full dinner menu is served Fridays and Saturdays from 5-9pm
The saloon hosts live music every other Friday and is considering expanding its calendar for the summer.
“I need a couple good weekends,” Sharp says. “Everybody seems to have business problems that I’ve talked to. We’re getting close to closing the doors.”
The beer and spirits menu should please most tastes, though a designated driver is certainly required to navigate back on the winding country highways. Those looking to whoop it up a little can choose from a selection of crassly named “shooter” shots: The Slippery Nipple, Liquid Cocaine and other titles even more unfit for puritan eyes.
The bar serves free popcorn after the kitchen closes and stays open until 2a.m. if there are customers.
“We pray that we’ll stay open until 2am,” Sharp says. “I think there’s a crowd that’s starting to come up from Lawrence and Topeka, but it’s an awful long drive so it’s only once-a-week.”
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