You know me, I’m always looking for an excuse to wear my Hamburglar outfit, so my ears perked up when I heard news of a Lawrence business that is becoming a growing burger chain. But, alas, no Hamburglars, no clowns or other such characters. Instead, there’s news that Lawrence-based Dempsey’s is taking another step at becoming a regional leader in the upscale burger market.

Lawrence businessman Steve Gaudreau has confirmed he’s struck a deal to expand his Dempsey’s burger chain into the Kansas City market. Gaudreau has finalized a deal to purchase the Blanc Burgers + Bottles in the Westport district of Kansas City, Mo. Gaudreau said the Blanc location will be converted over to a Dempsey’s by July 7.

This will mark the fourth location for Dempsey’s, which got its start and still operates out of the space at 623 Vermont St. in downtown Lawrence. The chain also has locations in Lincoln, Neb., and Wichita. Gaudreau said the business is still very much in an expansion mode.

“I want to grow it as big as I can go,” said Gaudreau, who also is the longtime owner of the downtown bar and sandwich shop Quinton’s. “Dempsey’s is definitely our future. I prefer the restaurant business over the bar business. That’s more of a young man’s game.”

Gaudreau said he thinks the prospects for growth are good in the upscale burger market. Prior to the Westport deal, Wichita was the last market he expanded into. He said diners there have taken to the idea of burger with a flair.

“Wichita was way bigger than my projections,” Gaudreau said. “It is doing extremely well. Lawrence had its best year, and thus far every year has been better than the previous one. Lincoln is smaller than the other stores. There was an influx of restaurants that opened there when we opened. But it is doing fine.”

Gaudreau said at the moment he’s not looking to franchise the business, but rather wants to build up a chain of locations that he owns. Gaudreau said getting into the Kansas City market has been high on his list because it is a large enough community where he could operate several Dempsey’s in the market, once the restaurant builds name recognition.

Gaudreau said the owner of Blanc Burgers & Bottles was ready to sell the Wesport location so that he could focus solely on Blanc’s other Kansas City metro location, which is located in Leawood.

As for Gaudreau’s other Lawrence business, Quinton’s, he said the longtime downtown establishment continues to “chug along.” But he said the bar business in Lawrence has seemed to become more sporadic of late. That would jibe with some of the numbers we reported last week about how Lawrence’s drink tax collections have declined for two straight years.

“The bar business is a fickle game right now,” Gaudreau said. “It is just a seesaw. You don’t have the constant, steady business that you used to have.”

In other news and notes from around town:

• I may not have found a reason to wear my Hamburglar suit yet, but it looks like there may be a weekend where my Speedo in Lawrence won’t draw as many stares. There’s information out on the social media world advertising that a 1,000-foot temporary water slide is coming to Lawrence in August.

A company called The Urban Slide is advertising that it will be on Eighth Street Aug. 8-9. The company’s website promotes the slide as being 1,000 feet long and “built for steady sliding and extraordinary family fun.”

The website doesn’t really spell out the specific location for the slide, but when you click on the direction tab on the site, it takes you to the block of Eighth Street between Massachusetts and Vermont streets. I wouldn’t count on that, though.

I put on my Sherlock Holmes hat, badly misused a pipe, and did some sleuthing. Lawrence-based Silverback — the production company that does events like The Color Run and other wild things –is behind The Urban Slide.

Silverback leader Ryan Robinson said the group originally wanted to have the slide downtown, but a host of logistical issues has that looking unlikely. For one, the slide works best on a hill, which is lacking in downtown. And then there is the issue of size — 1,000 feet is really long. Robinson estimated the slide is about 2.5 blocks long.

“That would cause Massachusetts Street to shut down, and I don’t think the city really wants that,” Robinson said.

He’s probably right, but how cool would it be to finally go down Massachusetts Street — legally — on an inner tube?

Robinson said he’s now looking at areas around the KU campus, which as any freshman and his oxygen bottle can tell you, is located on top of a hill. Robinson mentioned Mississippi Street and Fambrough Way as possibilities. He said he hasn’t settled on any location, and the use of any city street is going to have to win approval from city officials for safety and traffic purposes.

But Robinson said he’s confident a location is going to be found and that the event will happen in August. Robinson said his company’s been putting on Urban Slide events in other metro areas around the country for about a year.

“They are a blast,” Robinson said.

I’ll let you know when I hear of a location for the Lawrence event.

• Speaking of swimsuits, there is now a rural Lawrence resident who is officially making his living in one. I got word today that 16-year old swimming phenom Michael Andrew has signed a professional endorsement deal with the athletic equipment company adidas.

Michael’s mother, Tina Andrew, said her son has signed with adidas Swim. The signing makes Michael the youngest male swimmer in the history of U.S. swimming to turn pro.(Actually, it looks like he technically became the youngest male professional in 2014 when he signed a deal with nutritional supplement company.) Even if you are not a swim fan, perhaps you remember reading of Michael. I did a profile on Michael and his family back in 2013, detailing the wild ride that an international swimming career has taken them on.

Back then, the goal certainly was for Michael to make the U.S. Olympic team for the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro. All indications are that is still the goal, and perhaps just the beginning. Terms of the adidas deal were not disclosed, but the parties confirmed it is a multiyear agreement.

“Michael’s drive, talent and personality fit perfectly with adidas’ ambition to empower young swimmers around the world,” Christine Barth-Darkow, category director for swim for adidas Global said in a press release. “We look forward to supporting Michael on his journey to leave his mark on the global stage for many years to come.”

Thus far, Andrew has set 76 age group records in US swimming.