Wild Child

Wild Child opened on 15 July 2023 at 11022 Johnson Drive in downtown Shawnee, next door to Drastic Measures, the James Beard-nominated bar it is the vibrant sister to. Owner Jay Sanders called it a drinkery for everyone, and the room backs that up — Bon Appétit named it one of the best new bars in America in 2024, with Emily Farris describing consistently kind staff, warm wood panelling and more than fifty pretty plants that make anyone feel welcome in this world of pure imagination. Food comes from Jeff Workman, who built the small-plates menu of savoury popcorn, salads and charcuterie. In January 2025 Sanders was named a James Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service, the first Beard recognition for a Shawnee bar.

The zero-proof list here is the most technically serious in the Kansas City metro, and the reason is that Sanders makes his own non-alcoholic spirits in house — he worked out it was cheaper to buy distilling equipment and produce them himself than to keep buying them in. Nine drinks run $10 to $12. The N/A Negroni ($12) is the clearest demonstration: a full classic negroni built with alcohol and then stripped of it by atmospheric distillation, which is a genuinely different process from assembling a substitute. Up & At Em ($12) uses Aplos Arise with clarified green apple, malic acid and pandan leaf. Bearing Fruit ($10) combines a de-alcoholised alpine liqueur with kiwi, Seedlip Garden, lime and a vegan foamer. Best Medicine ($11) infuses a non-alcoholic ginger liqueur with smoked tea and finishes it with maple foam, and the N/A Espresso Martini ($12) uses an espresso-infused non-alcoholic amaro rather than coffee liqueur. Palomania and Sound & Fury ($10 each) go the acid-and-vinegar route with chipotle and habanero respectively. Sanders's own summary of the project is the best line written about the category locally: non-alcoholic, he said, doesn't mean it has to suck. Open Tuesday to Sunday; reservations run 90 minutes and cap at six people.