‘Noooo! One of the best’: Decades-old Johnson County karaoke dive bar is about to close
Red Balloon Bar & Grill, a dive bar that’s been serving drinks and the late-night slurred tunes of karaoke to Johnson County since 1989, is closing.
The bar, at at 10325 W. 75th St. in Shawnee, announced on Facebook Saturday that its last day will be Dec. 16, and it will close at 2 a.m. on Dec. 17.
“So the journey has been a wonderful ride,” the post reads. “I will absolutely miss (every one) of your faces.”
Longtime customers also grieved the news on social media.
“Noooo! … One of the best bars I’ve ever been to how sad!”
“I love this bar. I met my wonderful husband at this bar 24 years ago … Best day of my life.”
“I basically ‘grew’ up in this bar. This was my dad’s spot … I will have to come back one last time!”
Red Balloon’s owner could not be reached for comment Monday.
In October, the bar announced it would cut back its days, staying closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Red Balloon was “everything a dive bar should be,” freelancer Andrea Olsen wrote in The Star in 2013.
“Most notably, I’d heard it is the best place in the KC area to sing karaoke, and the only place you can sing seven nights a week. It wasn’t a place where I fit in, but it felt like a place where everyone fit in.”
This story was originally published December 4, 2023 at 11:25 AM.