Drastic Measures will once again transform into the “Drastic Mensches” pop-up bar, but this year, the Shawnee, Kansas-based cocktail bar will be even more ambitious with its Hanukkah celebrations.
Instead of a five-day pop-up during which half of all revenue was donated to Jewish Family Services (JFS) (as the bar did in 2022), Drastic Measures will become “Drastic Mensches” for multiple weeks in December, and 100% of all sales during the nights of Hanukkah will go to JFS.
According to the bar’s Instagram page, it raised $7,500 for JFS last year during the five days it was open, even with only half of the revenue being donated. With 100% of all proceeds during Hanukkah being donated, the bar is set to exceed last year’s donation considerably.
The bar will be closed from Dec. 4 to 7 during its transformation into “Drastic Mensches.” A new custom Hanukkah menu will be available — last year’s specialty cocktails included a sufganiyah-infused cognac cocktail and a clarified shakshuka Bloody Mary.
Drastic Measures partner/operator Jay Sanders told The Chronicle last year that “Drastic Mensches” is intended to celebrate Hanukkah without appropriating it. Although the staff is not Jewish, Sanders said they want to honor their Jewish friends and guests by having Hanukkah and Jewish culture celebrated the same way Christmas is.
“We are celebrating our local Jewish friends that have to tolerate so many of our local bars turning Christmas and Santa themed,” read a recent post on the Drastic Measures Instagram account. “We just wanted to be able to create that space for their holiday to be celebrated as much as all the others during this holiday season.”
Drastic Measures is located at 5817 Nieman, Shawnee, KS 66203. No reservations are accepted, and the pop-up will not be a ticketed event. More information about the bar is available at drasticbar.com and on its Instagram page.
