Decades-old Johnson County bar to close for city project: ‘Can’t fight the government’
Mary Armstrong knew that the I-35 and Santa Fe corridor project in Olathe would eventually displace her bar, Double Nickel.
She said she attended a public meeting about the project last year, though she was under the impression that she would have more time at her current 189 Rogers Road digs.
“They made it sound like it would be a while out,” she said. “Surprise. It’s not.”
In December, she was given a 90-day demand letter from the city ordering her to vacate the rented space.
With a heavy heart, Armstrong will close on Saturday a bar that’s served Olathe citizens for 30 years. She’s owned it for eight.
“You can’t fight the government,” Armstrong said. “I mean, it’s sad. It is what it is.”
This might not be the end of Double Nickel forever, but Armstrong isn’t making any plans just yet. She’s taking some time off and not entertaining any possibilities until the summer is over.
Plus, finding a spot in the area is difficult and costly, Armstrong said, especially with other businesses scrambling to find spaces.
The roughly $200 million project includes improving Santa Fe, from Ridgeview to Mur-Len roads, and constructing a new interchange at I-35. It’s expected to displace 20 businesses, The Star previously reported. Several have already closed or moved.
AR’s Breakfast and Brunch closed its spot at the intersection at the end of the year, but it hopes to relocate soon. (It still has one spot near downtown Overland Park at 8021 Metcalf Ave.)
Toni’s Italian Restaurant, also in the path of construction, opened a spot in Shawnee at 22716 Midland Drive.
Bikes for the Likes of Us recently relocated to downtown Olathe at 105 S. Kansas Ave.
The city of Olathe is the owner of several buildings downtown, but Armstrong said the city didn’t ask her to join the burgeoning downtown, where Third Street Social, Char Bar and Pizza 51 will soon open.
To a certain extent, Armstrong said, she understands that the intersection needs to be redone. But she still isn’t pleased with what she sees as the city’s lack of communication.
Cody Kennedy, a spokesman for the city of Olathe, said the city began looking into improving the congested corridor in 2020.
Public meetings were conducted in 2022 through 2023, where “tenants and businesses in the identified corridor were given information regarding the need for land acquisition,” Kennedy said in a written statement to The Star.
Construction for the corridor is set to begin in late 2026 or early 2027 and will last through 2029. But before construction can begin, the city must acquire to relocate the utilities (pipes, fiber, cables).
That process is set to begin in the second quarter of 2025.
“Without relocating the vital utilities, the construction could not happen,” Kennedy said.
Meanwhile, Armstrong said her bar has been packed, the reality of its fast-approaching closing date looming.
“I just got to go through the motions and do what I need to. Take care of what I need to take care of,” she said. “I usually make a statement every night … ‘I want to say thanks for coming out and supporting not only the business, but supporting my staff.’”