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Gilda’s Bar de Tapas is an independent, owner-operated Spanish tapas bar and full-kitchen restaurant in downtown Shawnee, Kansas, at 5815 Nieman Road. Opened in 2025 by Stephanie Cashion with business partner Bryan Albers, it serves regional Spanish small plates, Spanish wines, and craft cocktails. The name nods both to the gilda — a classic Basque pintxo of olives, anchovy, and pepper — and to the 1946 film Gilda.

Description

Gilda’s Bar de Tapas offers a wide range of tapas and small plates inspired by the diverse regions of Spain, served alongside Spanish wines and craft cocktails. Menu signatures include the house dip of sweet roasted red peppers and almonds, the Catalan “bikini” sandwich with Serrano ham and mozzarella, fried eggplant, char-grilled lamb chops, grilled octopus, and beef tenderloin, plus classics such as patatas bravas and croquetas. The bar program ranges from a bourbon chocolate espresso martini to signature margaritas and a “strawberry smash” gin and tonic.

The concept is rooted in founder Stephanie Cashion’s love of Spain — not only its food, but the social, communal way Spaniards eat. The restaurant occupies a downtown Shawnee storefront on Nieman Road near Johnson Drive, in a space that previously housed a funeral home office (closed 2021) and was reopened after a lengthy remodel.12

Ownership and history

Gilda’s was founded by Stephanie Cashion, who developed her passion for Spanish cuisine on a trip to Spain (Barcelona) and set out to bring that food culture to the Kansas City metro. Cashion previously opened The Glass Cat, a Bonner Springs breakfast restaurant that became locally popular; it was there that she met her eventual business partner, Bryan Albers, who had owned the Bottle12 Wine Bar in Bonner Springs. The two teamed up to execute the Gilda’s vision.13

The project was first publicly announced in January 2024 as a small-plates-and-cocktails concept planned for downtown Shawnee’s growing entertainment district along Nieman Road.2 After a lengthy buildout, Gilda’s held its soft opening the week of July 22, 2025.1 Early kitchen and bar leadership included Jake Gable (chef de cuisine) and Emerald Rook (lead bartender).1

The name “Gilda” carries a double meaning: a gilda is a classic Basque pintxo (a skewer of olive, anchovy, and guindilla pepper), and the bar also draws aesthetic inspiration from the 1946 Rita Hayworth film Gilda.4

See also

Sources

Footnotes

  1. Johnson County Post, “New bar and tapas restaurant Gilda’s opens in downtown Shawnee” (July 22, 2025) — soft opening, owners Stephanie Cashion and Bryan Albers, Glass Cat / Bottle12 connections, prior funeral-home space, menu, and staff. https://johnsoncountypost.com/2025/07/22/gildas-shawnee-opens-264744/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  2. Johnson County Post, “Downtown Shawnee restaurant will offer small plates and cocktails” (Jan. 29, 2024) — initial announcement of the concept and Nieman Road location. https://johnsoncountypost.com/2024/01/29/gildas-downtown-shawnee-223958/ ↩ ↩2

  3. Yahoo News / Kansas City Star syndication, “Johnson County tapas bar is now open, bringing a taste of Spain to the metro” (2025) — owners, concept, and Spanish-cuisine inspiration. https://www.yahoo.com/news/johnson-county-tapas-bar-now-235047241.html ↩

  4. Gilda’s Bar de Tapas official website (gildaskc.com) — address (5815 Nieman Rd, Shawnee, KS 66203), phone (913-258-2032), hours, concept, and the gilda pintxo / 1946 film name origin. https://gildaskc.com/ ↩

See also

Categories
  • Locally owned
  • Spanish
  • Shawnee