Owners of The Belmont finally preparing to open their Larcher’s specialty market next door

As some observant customers have guessed, the boarded up doors and windows on the space directly east of The Belmont restaurant at Happiness Plaza mean that owners are finally going ahead with plans they first announced two years ago.

Early next year, they plan to open in the space a specialty market and restaurant called Larcher’s. The business will be separate from The Belmont and will offer food at breakfast, lunch and dinner plus grab-and-go items and merchandise by local vendors.

Additionally, Larcher’s will have a coffee bar, a full bar selling craft cocktails, wine, beer and more, and indoor seating for around 30. The business will also have a window that faces the parking lot where people can walk up and order drinks and even sit at outdoor bar stools while they enjoy them.

Ryan Francisco, who in 2019 bought Happiness Plaza at 3555 E. Douglas with his brother and business partner Anthony Francisco, said he’s thrilled that the project is finally almost off the ground. Its name is an ode to his wife Lacy’s and sister-in-law Kelly Novacone’s great grandfather Frank Larcher, who opened a market called Larcher’s at Erie and Central in 1922. The store moved and evolved over the years but was a fixture in Wichita until 1989.

The Franciscos are opening the business with their partner and The Belmont’s co-owner Tory DeMarce.

“This has been a long time coming, and a lot of hard work and effort has been put into it,” Ryan Francisco said on Monday. “And Tory has really created a very unique and special concept. We’re beyond excited to introduce it to the neighborhood and to the city.”

The partners are deep into construction on the market, which inside will feature the same signature arched ceiling that The Belmont has. They anticipate having it ready to go sometime in February.

Moving ahead

The main reason Larcher’s has taken so long, the owners say, is the trouble they’ve had getting approval for the landscaped parking lot they want to build on vacant lots behind the building on Clifton. The owners, who purchased three houses behind Happiness Plaza in 2021 and tore two of them down to make way for the lot, later had their request for a zoning change denied by the Wichita City Council after neighborhood opposition.

They applied for the change again this year, and in April, the council narrowly voted for a second time to deny it.

DeMarce and Francisco say they’re still reserving the property for a parking lot and hope that they can find some resolution. In the meantime, DeMarce said, Larcher’s shoppers who can’t find a spot in the plaza’s small parking lot can park on surrounding streets.

Customers will be greeted by a market concept inspired by businesses that the Francisco brothers and DeMarce loved in the Phoenix area. The brothers — Wichita natives — live in Arizona, and DeMarce used to.

The cafe menu at Larcher’s will feature sandwiches like pulled pork, tenderloin and tuna salad as well as several salads, including a version of the fattoush. Those who want to dine in the morning will be able to get breakfast sandwiches and crepes with their coffee. Sandwiches and salads also will be prepackaged so people can grab them quickly and go, DeMarce said.

The market will have coolers filled with locally produced items like cold-pressed juice, cheese and more. The partners have already talked to businesses like Elderslie Farm about providing cheese and Bagatelle Bakery about providing bread. The cafe will also serve Reverie coffee.

Shelves at the market will be stocked with merchandise items like locally made candles or hats and T-shirts that are Wichita- or College Hill-centric.

Seating for cafe customers will be spread out in the adjoining two-story space that used to be home to Dean’s Designs and has in recent years served as a spot where people waiting for tables at The Belmont could hang out and enjoy a drink. At the moment, the space is filled with The Belmont’s holiday pop-up bar called Sparky’s.

The upstairs of the future seating area will overlook the market, which will be decorated with a wall-sized photograph of Ed Larcher, Frank Larcher’s son. The owners also have the sign that used to be affixed to the outside of the original Larcher’s and hope to rehab it and display it inside.

The market and the seating area are joined on the lower level by a newly constructed bar, which will have the outside-facing pass-through window as well as bar stool seating inside.

DeMarce said that he’s looking for both an executive chef and a general manager for the new Larcher’s, but in the meantime, he’s brought on chefs Eric Ramirez and Kevin Lebron to help him develop Larcher’s menu. Ramirez is also helping to rework some of the menu at The Belmont.

But the two businesses will be separate and will have completely separate food and drink menus, DeMarce said. People waiting for tables at The Belmont will be able to patronize Larcher’s, which will be open until about 8 p.m., and will settle up their tabs there before heading next door.

Wichita roots

Frank Larcher opened the original Larcher’s at Erie and Central in 1922, having bought it as a gift for his wife, Rose. He paid $400.

Larcher’s moved a block east to 2929 E. Central in 1929, and the store remained popular until it closed in 1989. By that time, it had evolved into a specialty market where local foodies would shop for fresh-sliced meats and hard-to-find ingredients like cactus leaf, caviar and Chinese cabbage. (Food for Thought later took over the building, which has since been remodeled for new tenants.)

When the new Larcher’s opens, it will mean that Happiness Plaza — which Joyce and Dean White built and opened in 1968 — will be completely occupied.

“I think that The Belmont and Larcher’s will complement each other very well as neighboring businesses,” DeMarce said. “I think it’ll fit really well with the other businesses in the community that are right here. I think that everybody will benefit, and hopefully everybody gets busier. “