Danny's Burger Shack (Shawnee)

Danny’s Burger Shack – Shawnee is the second location of the Northland burger joint, opened without announcement on August 13, 2026 in the former Bar West space at 7174 Renner Road in the Midland shopping center off I-435 in western Shawnee. It is the brand’s first Kansas store and a larger room than the original, done in the same reds, whites and blues by co-owner Mark Denton’s design firm. The menu is the Northland’s: fresh, never-frozen Black Angus smash burgers built to order, hand-breaded chicken, house pickles and sauces, and onion rings breaded each morning until they sell out. Word spread through neighborhood social media the day the lights came on, and the first weeks brought crowds and long waits — “a good problem to have,” co-owner Joe Sessel says.

Description

The Shawnee shack occupies the space at the Midland shopping center that The Bar’s flagship, Bar West, held for more than 15 years, a few doors from Minsky’s pizza and the breakfast spot Rize N Shine.¹² It is larger than the Northland original but mirrors it — reds, whites and blues, counter seating — a look Sessel credits entirely to co-owner Mark Denton: “All of the way that the décor is set up in here was definitely his brainchild.”²¹ Denton, who owns the design firm Project 607 (607 Interiors), and his wife, both with professional design backgrounds, drew the layout; renderings were published in July 2026.¹²

The food is the same as North Oak. Beef comes fresh from farms in Kansas, southern Nebraska and Missouri through the Braveheart Black Angus program — slaughtered a few hours away, formed into patties and driven to the restaurant several times a week without freezing.¹³ Sauces, breading and pickles are made in-house; there is no microwave.³ “We are a make-to-order, high-value, really good burger joint,” Sessel says; the trade-off is speed, and the opening weeks brought long waits as burgers were pressed to order in the back.² The DBS Classic (romaine, DBS sauce, caramelized onion, tomato, sweet pickle, American cheese; $9 single to $17 pounder) and the mustard-and-pickle Old School are about half of sales; the Drunken Rancher, Sweet Heat, Caprese Beef, PB&J, Brooklyn and a patty melt round out the burgers, with hand-breaded thigh chicken sandwiches, tenders and bites, and a monthly special (a green hatch chile burger was slated for September).⁴³² A simpler “build-a-burger” option was planned for customers who want fewer toppings.²

Ownership and history

Danny’s Burger Shack was founded as a food truck in July 2021 by Daniel and Niki Kidwell and moved into a Northland storefront at 8002 N. Oak Trafficway on August 23, 2022; the Kidwells later sold the business to Joe Sessel, who owns it with Mark Denton.³¹ Sessel is a former steelworker who describes himself as preferring a rural life well west of the suburbs; Denton is a partner in The Brass Monkey downtown and runs Project 607.³¹² Fuller history is on the Northland page.

Expansion was already on the new owners’ minds when The Bar’s team, preparing to close Bar West, invited them to look at the space: “They said, ‘Hey, we’re getting ready to close Bar West, you should come take a look at it,’” Sessel recalled. “And I said, ‘That sounds like a fantastic opportunity.’”² The Bar announced in May 2026 that it was putting its 16-year-old Shawnee original “out to pasture” as the group’s footprint grew, with a new Olathe location (mini golf, 2,000-square-foot patio) planned for September 2026.⁵³ Within weeks a Danny’s sign and “coming soon” banner were up on Renner Road; the Star reported the sign on July 7 and the Johnson County Post the renovation on July 16, with Sessel targeting an August opening — four years to the month after the Northland store opened.⁵¹

The owners never announced the date. Sessel “flipped on the lights” on Thursday, August 13, 2026, neighborhood social-media pages did the rest, and customers “turned out in droves”; a Star reporter found a steady stream of orders the next afternoon.³ “It’s been incredible, considering how secret we kept it,” Sessel said, adding: “The only thing I didn’t like about Danny’s Burger Shack was that it was only available in the Northland.”³ Two weeks in, the Post described an “overwhelming” response.² Sessel has said the “hyperlocal” enthusiasm makes him hopeful about other parts of the metro, but that further units will wait until the operation is systematized — “without making it any less local, any less fresh, or any less authentic.”²

Links

• Website: https://www.dannysburgershack.com/
• Menu (official, image board): https://www.dannysburgershack.com/menu
• Online ordering (Clover, Shawnee): https://dannys-burger-shack-shawnee.cloveronline.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dannys_burger_shack/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dannysburgershack

Menu

Last verified: 2026-08-28 · Source: the restaurant’s own Clover online-ordering menu for the Shawnee location · Confidence: High. The Shawnee list matches the Northland menu (fully transcribed on the Northland page) with two differences: no Burger-of-the-Month or extra-cutlet line items on Clover yet, and two additional sauces (basil aioli, jalapeño jam).⁴

• Burgers (single / double / triple / pounder): Classic ($9/$12/$15/$17) · Old School ($9/$12/$15/$17) · Patty Melt ($9/$12/$15/$17) · Drunken Rancher ($11/$14/$17) · Sweet Heat ($11/$14/$17/$19) · Caprese Beef ($11/$14/$17) · PB&J ($11/$14/$17/$20) · Brooklyn ($11/$14)
• Chicken & sandwiches: Crispy Chicken Sandwich ($10) · Buffalo Chicken Ranch ($10) · Caprese Chicken ($11) · tenders 2/4/6 pc ($5/$8/$11) · chicken bites 10/20 pc ($7.50/$13.50) · Tender Wrap ($4; bag with fries $7, tots $7.50) · BLT ($7)
• Sides: fries ($3) · tater tots ($4) · onion rings (limited daily; listed “sold out” at retrieval)
• Kids: 5 pc bites + fries ($6) · grilled cheese + fries ($6)
• Extras & sauces: house or sweet pickles ($0.50), pint of pickles ($6), Doggo Burger ($4); DBS sauce, ranch, honey mustard, buffalo, whiskey BBQ, basil aioli, honey sriracha, jalapeño jam ($0.75 each)

Sources

Footnotes

1. Lucie Krisman, “After The Bar West closed in Shawnee, popular smashburger joint is moving in,” Johnson County Post, 2026-07-16. Retrieved 2026-08-28 — Confirms: Bar West closed in May after more than 15 years; Danny’s renovating 7174 Renner Rd at the Midland shopping center near Minsky’s and Rize N Shine, targeting August; soft-opening plan; beef from Nebraska and Kansas farms shipped unfrozen; house sauces; onion rings; Sessel quotes; Denton and wife designing (rendering credit 607 Interiors); larger than the Northland original; Kidwells as founders; Northland storefront opened August 2022; Kidwell a former union millwright; Sessel a former steelworker; expansion outlook. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

2. Lucie Krisman, “Danny’s Burger Shack now open in Shawnee in former Bar West space,” Johnson County Post, 2026-08-27. Retrieved 2026-08-28 — Confirms: open “a couple of weeks ago” in the former Bar West; Midland shopping center off Midland Dr and Renner Rd; Bar West’s 15-plus years; hours 11 a.m.–8 p.m. daily; “overwhelming” response and long waits; make-to-order, no microwave; Classic and Old School as half of sales; monthly specials (green hatch chile next), build-a-burger coming; décor by Denton; Denton owns Project 607 and The Brass Monkey; Sessel and Denton took over the brand; Bar West team offered the space; expansion philosophy quotes. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰

3. Jenna Thompson, “Johnson County’s newest burger restaurant serving ‘everything fresh’ draws crowds,” The Kansas City Star, 2026-08-17. Retrieved 2026-08-28 — Confirms: opened Thursday, August 13, 2026 (photo caption), unannounced, with crowds via neighborhood social media; Sessel’s rural home and Braveheart Black Angus sourcing from Kansas, southern Nebraska and Missouri; no microwave; house sauces, breading, pickles; DBS Classic and other builds with prices; original opened 2022 at 8002 N. Oak and still operating; Denton opened Brass Monkey Lounge at 307 Admiral Blvd. in 2025; Kidwell started the truck in 2021 and sold to Sessel; Bar West closure and Olathe plans. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

4. Danny’s Burger Shack — Clover online ordering, Shawnee location (menu/all). Retrieved 2026-08-28 — Confirms: address 7174 Renner Road, Shawnee, Kansas 66217; phone (913) 248-9378; ordering window 11:00 AM–7:30 PM; every item and price in the Menu section, including burger descriptions, onion rings “sold out,” basil aioli and jalapeño jam sauces. ↩ ↩²

5. Jenna Thompson, “Danny’s Burger Shack is opening a Shawnee location” [headline paraphrased], The Kansas City Star, 2026-07-07. Retrieved 2026-08-28 — Confirms: new sign and “coming soon” banner at 7174 Renner Rd; truck since 2021, Northland home at 8002 N. Oak since 2022; Sessel said opening “next month”; Instagram tease a month earlier; menu prices; The Bar West’s May announcement, 16 years, and the Olathe replacement at 17927 W. 119th St. with mini golf and a 2,000-sq-ft patio. ↩ ↩²