In memoriam: Restaurants Wichita loved, then lost, in 2023
Running a restaurant has always been tough — but it’s gotten much tougher since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020 and many owners had to temporarily close their businesses.
Since then, restaurant owners have been battling staffing problems, and in 2023, food costs skyrocketed. Several restaurants didn’t survive.
It’s become an end-of-the-year tradition to remember, in memoriam-style, the restaurants Wichita lost over the past 12 months.
A moment of silence, please.
JANUARY
Angry Elephant, 756 N. Tyler and 111 E. 47th St. South: It’s not clear exactly when owner Santiago Munoz — who once had big expansion plans for his Angry Elephant barbecue restaurants — closed both of his Wichita restaurants. But by January, they were gone.
JAX Restaurant and Bar, 9719 E. 21st St. North: JAX was the second concept that Deano’s Grill & Tapworks owner John Arnold tried in this restaurant space at Cambridge Market. In the fall of 2020, he changed the restaurant’s branding from the higher-end Greystone Steak & Seafood to the more casual Jax. But on Jan. 2, he announced he would close it, too, saying COVID had affected his business. Arnold is now working on a second Deano’s Grill & Tapworks restaurant, which should open this spring at 37th and Ridge. Soon, a new tenant will take over the empty Jax building: a Kansas City-based Mexican restaurant called Viva Tacos & Tequila.
Uno Mas, 8841 W. 13th St.: At the start of 2023, Abel Rodriguez was still operating two of his “fresh Mex” restaurants — plus his then-new Cabron y Vagos restaurant and nightclub downtown at 301 N. Washington. In January, though, he closed the 13th and Tyler Uno Mas restaurant, saying he wasn’t sure if he would reopen it. He didn’t, and by April, he’d partnered with former coworker Deved Mekaeil and opened a new Mediterranean restaurant in the spot called Shawarma UR’s. (It also did not survive the year in the space but now operates as a food truck.)
FEBRUARY
Tutors Pizza, 524 S. Seneca and 3817 W. 13th St.: David Thompson opened two Tutors Pizza restaurants in the summer of 2022, but neither lasted long. The one in the former Knolla’s spot on West 13th Street closed in December 2022 followed by the one in the former Clutch House space at Kellogg and Seneca in February of this year. The strip center on South Seneca now has a new owner who’s trying to find new restaurant tenants.
Sunflower Espresso, 500 S. Topeka: Kate Hutchens started her business as a food bus in 2014 then announced plans in late 2020 to open a tiny brick-and-mortar cafe in the FireWorx building. But she and her business partner decided to close the business in February. Fairly quickly, the space got a new tenant: Paranormal Cafe.
NuWay, 6404 E. Central and 3441 E. Harry: In late February, NuWay owner Chris Stong closed two of his local chain’s longtime restaurants, saying that COVID had weakened them both. Now, two remain: the original at 1416 W. Douglas and the NuWay at 7301 W. Central.
Hana Cafe, 325 N. Mead: After 27 years of running her business — both on Rock Road where she opened in 1996 and in Old Town Square where she moved in 2006 — Eunice Kim decided she was ready to retire and she closed her sushi and noodle restaurant in late February. A new sushi restaurant called Sushiya has since moved in.
MARCH
Jenny Dawn Cellars, 703 E. Douglas: Jennifer McDonald opened her “urban winery” in late 2019 at Union Station. The business survived a pandemic and a December 2022 break-in. But in early March, McDonald said she had to close the business.
Angela’s, 300 S. Greenwich: The city’s last remaining Angela’s cafe closed in early March, with the owner citing “personal reasons” in a Facebook post. It first opened in the fall of 2021.
Sumo by Nambara, 11233 E 13th St.: This sushi and hibachi restaurant originally opened in February 2000 at 3236 N. Rock Road then moved to the Plazzio in 2006. After years of rumors that it was closing, it finally did in March. A new restaurant called Umi Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar has since moved in.
Baskin-Robbins, 2126 N. Webb Road, 8918 W. 21st St.: Wichita became a Baskin-Robbins-free zone in late March when both local stores closed. The west-side space still sits empty. A new dirty soda shop called Just A Sip took over the east-side spot in November.
Town & Country Classic, 2315 W. 21st St.: This restaurant, owned by a former customer of the original Town & Country on West Kellogg, first opened at K-42 and Maize Road in 2020. The owner decided to move it to what he hoped was a busier part of town, and when New Neighbors closed in late 2022, he took the spot. But by late March, it was gone. A new restaurant called Amore Italian Restaurant opened there in November.
APRIL
Bomber Burger, 4869 S. Clifton: Chris Rickard was known city-wide for his greasy burgers and surly demeanor. But when he died suddenly after a traffic accident in April, the south-side burger joint he’d run since 1997 closed and never reopened.
First Mile Cantine, 320 S. Market: Husband and wife Nick Korbee and Amanda Luginbill opened a sister concept to their upscale First Mile Kitchen restaurant in the summer of 2022. But nine months later, they closed it, saying they’d run out of “resources and bandwidth to really execute it at a level it really needed to grow.” The space they vacated, which is on the ground level of Fidelity Bank’s RISE Car Park, is now home to Josh Rathbun’s first solo restaurant: Lotte, which opened in October. The Korbees are still running First Mile Kitchen at Bradley Fair.
Los Compas, 4559 N. Woodlawn: The owners of this Mexican restaurant battled road construction from the day they first opened in July 2021. They finally gave up in April and closed. Since then, they’ve opened a new restaurant called Casa Mexicana at 6600 W. Central.
Walt’s All-American Bar & Grill, 5534 W. Central: In the summer of 2022, business partners Hamendra Bhakta and Jason Bradley purchased the strip center that held Walt’s, and their initial plan was to close the restaurant, which opened in the early 1990s. Instead, they remodeled and reopened it. But by April, it was closed. The partners are now using the restaurant’s parking lot for their Global Auto Brokers car dealership and the Walt’s space for their offices.
Hardee’s: Suddenly and without explanation in April, Denver-based Capstone Restaurant Group closed its three Wichita Hardee’s — at 1320 N. Tyler Road, 2053 N. Amidon and 3216 E. Harry — as well as the one at 2101 N. Rock Road in Derby. The Amidon space soon will be home to a Popeyes restaurant. The other buildings are still vacant.
MAY
Lina’s Mexican Cuisine, 3570 N. Woodlawn: The owners of this Mexican restaurant, which had operated since 2015, announced on social media in May that they’d decided not to renew the lease on their northeast Wichita space. They’re still running a Lina’s at 4910 E. Central, though. A new Thai restaurant called Thai Table has since taken over the old Lina’s spot.
JUNE
Kookaburra Coffee, 9414 W. Central: Rebecca Fox opened this coffee shop in the Westlink shopping center in late 2018. But in June, Fox posted on social media that she’d been too busy with her full-time job — a multi-state coffee service company — to give the cafe the attention it needed and said that it was barely breaking even. There’s now paper covering the windows of the shop, which usually indicates that a new business is moving in. But there’s no word yet on what it might be.
Fried Pies, 8520 W. 13th St.: A little drive-up shop serving fried pies opened in Northwest Centre in 2018, but owners Bradley and Laura Monahan and Shaker Dakhil closed the shop in June without offering a reason. They also briefly owned a fried pies shop in Park City. The Northwest Centre spot became home to Wichita’s first dirty soda shop, Just a Sip, in October.
Las Cabos Cantina & Grill, 3827 W. 13th St.: This 2-year-old restaurant closed in June and was quickly replaced by La Sufrida Mexican Grill, which is still open.
JULY
Albero Cafe, 4811 E. Central: Hassan Ballout first opened his Albero Cafe Italian restaurant in 2014, and it became a College Hill staple. But his landlord has other plans for the area, and Ballout had to leave the space at Central and Oliver. He closed in July but still has his other restaurant — Albero Bistro — at Greenwich Place, 2884 N. Greenwich Ct.
Common Grounds, 2812 E. Douglas: Randy Ecker and Diana Lizarraga opened their coffee shop in a 2,800-square-foot, three-story College Hill house in 2012, and it became a go-to spot for people recovering from addiction. But the two decided to close their shop and focus more on their treatment center, Seventh Direction. Common Grounds’ last day was July 14. The space is now occupied by a Wichita branch of the Derby-originated coffee shop and co-op bakery The Coop.
AUGUST
The Tea House, 3700 E. Douglas: In August, Papa’s General Store owner Derek Sorrells bought the tea room that had operated next door to him in Clifton Square since August 2020. He’s still working on a plan to turn the old house the tea room occupied into a high-end whiskey, wine and tea bar.
Buffalo Wings & Rings, 2636 N. Greenwich Court: This hot wing restaurant chain came to Wichita in 2018, opening in the Greenwich Place development. But it suddenly closed in August, and the franchisees offered no explanation. The building is still for lease.
Wichita Fish Co., 818 N. Mosley: Early in the pandemic, Larry and Judy Towns moved their Wichita Fish Co. from its longtime home at 1601 W. Douglas in Delano to the former Rachel’s Kitchen spot at 818 N. Mosley, hoping that its smaller footprint would help it focus more on carryout business. But Larry died in January 2022, and the space didn’t bring in the business the family had hoped. They closed the restaurant in August after having owned it for 33 years.
SEPTEMBER
Uno Mas, 3242 N. Rock Road: Abel Rodriguez closed his last Uno Mas restaurant in Wichita in September, saying he wanted to put his full focus on his Cabron y Vagos restaurant and nightclub downtown at 301 N. Washington. Uno Mas had been in the space since 2020. A new Indian restaurant called Astoria Biryani House opened there in October.
Shawarma UR’s, 8641 W. 13th St.: This build-your-own shawarma restaurant took over the former Uno Mas spot at Tyler Pointe in April. But the brick-and-mortar restaurant closed in early September, and owner Deved Mekaeil started work on a Shawarma UR’s food truck, which he opened in the fall.
OCTOBER
McDonald’s, 1050 N. Broadway: Lane Enterprises’ Michael Lane closed this almost 60-year-old McDonald’s restaurant on Halloween. He said the decision came down from McDonald’s corporate as part of an occasional “screening” the company does of all of its restaurants.
San Salvador Cafe, 5518 W. Central: The little pupusa restaurant that opened in 2019 at 5518 W. Central closed in October having lost its lease: The landlord plans to tear the tiny building down to make way for his car lot. But Norma Arteaga and her sister, Hazel, say they are trying to find another space where they can reopen.
California Tortilla, 2244 N. Greenwich: This build-your-own burrito chain first entered the Wichita market in January of 2020, and in 2021, the original franchisee closed the restaurant then turned it over to a new one. But Terri Jabara said she quickly realized that Wichita was more of a “Chipotle or true Mexican” town and tried to find yet another franchisee to take over. Failing to do so, she closed the restaurant in October. But the space didn’t stay vacant long. The owners of Social Tap at 4510 E. 19th St. opened a second location in the California Tortilla space in December. The new Social Tap features beers brewed by Nortons Brewing Company
Lito’s, 756 N. Tyler: When Angry Elephant closed in January, owner Santiago Munoz’s cousin, Angel Ponce, decided he wanted to try a restaurant that served both regular and vegan versions of dishes like burgers and tacos. He opened in the spring, but by October, the restaurant was gone.
Lotus Leaf, 252 N. Washington: Jackie Keefer closed her colorful healthy-eating restaurant, which had been in Old Town since 2014, in late October, saying she’d just experienced the worst month in the restaurant’s history. Rising food costs, she said, were the main culprit.
DECEMBER
West Street Burgers South, 2560 S. Seneca: Don’t panic: The original West Street Burgers at 130 S. West St. is open and doing fine. But the owner decided in mid-December to close the south location he opened in 2018.
Las Catrinas, 2330 N. Maize Road: This Mexican restaurant opened in early 2021 but quietly closed in early December. It’s the latest in a string of restaurants to have operated in the space for just a short time, and now, the owner is looking for a new tenant — or two — to move in.
Crutch & Biscuit, 550 N. Rock Road: In December, Crutch & Biscuit owner Steven Gaudreau closed the barbecue restaurant he opened in the summer of 2020 and turned it into a Wichita location of the once-popular Lawrence business Quinton’s. Though the barbecue is gone, people can still get the Crutch & Biscuit brunch menu on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
Villa Del Sol, 2227 N. Arkansas: This Mexican restaurant was the latest tenant of the building near 21st and Arkansas most famous as the longtime home of Taqueria El Paisa. It had a buffet, but that didn’t save it. The restaurant closed in December after a little less than a year in business. A new restaurant called Paisa Town, which will have a bar and authentic Mexican dishes, its owners say, will open there in early January.
PourHouse, 711 E. Douglas: PourHouse will serve its last meal on Saturday, Dec. 30. But the owners of Walnut River Brewing, who first opened the restaurant in Union Station in 2018, will keep the property and turn it into a new brewpub concept. They’ll make the beer, and Ziggy’s Pizza will create the menu. The partners are still thinking of a name for the new business but hope to have it open by spring.
Leslie Coffee Co., 930 W. Douglas: Sarah Leslie will serve her last cup of coffee at her 5-year-old Delano coffee shop on Saturday, Dec. 30. After that, local entrepreneurs will open a combination coffee shop and bar — Pennant Coffee and Good Company — in the space.
Viola’s Pantry, 156 N. Cleveland: Kristina Grappo opened this business selling fresh-made pasta and occasional pasta meals to-go back in 2021. But she had to relocate to Phoenix for her husband’s job and announced in late December that the market’s last day open in Wichita would be Sunday, Dec. 31.
