Wichita’s oldest shopping center is getting a kind of business it’s never had before
In its almost 75-year history, Lincoln Heights Village has been home to a variety of businesses, but never a bar.
That’s about to change.
Oliver’s Lounge is coming to the center at the southwest corner of Douglas and Oliver this summer.
“It’s going to be a College Hill social club,” said Kristi Ivy, who is opening the business with her family.
That includes her mother, Patti Allison, and stepfather, Brent, who own Extraordinaire Salon & Boutique at Lincoln Heights.
They’ve leased the former McMullen Jewelry space next door.
“We’ve always wanted that space,” Brent Allison said. “This is such a destination corner to shop.”
Their business has been at the center for 17 years, and Allison said he and his wife originally wanted the extra space to expand their salon and boutique.
He said they started thinking on it a bit more, though.
“This place needed some evening activity.”
Why?
“Because we have parking.”
He said he center is dead after 4 p.m. unlike other areas around it, such as the Hill, the Wine Dive and Il Vicino that are also at the intersection and the Belmont and Clifton Square restaurants down the street.
“That’s just a really booming area,” Allison said.
The family had to jump through some hurdles with the planning department, but he said neighboring businesses could not be more supportive.
“Everybody’s on board,” Allison said.
“People are hugging us going, ‘Yes!’ ” Ivy said.
She said their idea is to create a place to meet friends, socialize and have date nights with cocktails and small bites mostly centered around unique charcuterie boards. Nonalcoholic cocktails also will be a big focus.
The vibe will be “kind of Rat Pack cocktails,” Ivy said.
That’s to go with an “old school Vegas lounge” theme, Allison said.
The lounge will be on two levels with seating for about 25 downstairs and almost 40 upstairs, and there will be outside sidewalk seating as well.
They’re stripping the spaces of dropped ceilings and fluorescent lights and beginning to transform them.
Allison, who has a construction background, is doing the work himself.
As he was working in the basement and moving shelves, bottles of hair product fell out from the first business in the space.
The Carlton Salon of Beauty opened there in 1949. Allison said a neat connection is that one of his front-desk workers used to work there.
“I don’t know if people really realize the historical significance of this building or not,” he said.
Family members of original owner Walter Morris still own the center, which was Wichita’s first shopping center and an early one for the state.
“There’s really nowhere else in town I’d rather be as far as having a business,” Allison said.
Ivy will be Oliver’s general manager, which is the same role she once had at Wheat State Distilling. She also helped start the Rusty Nail, but she’s now out of that business.
Oliver’s and the salon will be connected through a passage in a wall. Salon customers will be able to get to-go drinks while they’re getting salon services.
Ivy said they’ll also be adding cocktail-centric items to add to the boutique, such as glassware, shakers and syrups.
“Why not be able to take it home, too?”
Oliver’s hours will be 4 p.m. to midnight Tuesday through Thursday, 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to midnight Sunday.
For weekend brunches, there will be breakfast charcuterie boards. Some of those products, such as pickled items, will be available in the boutique.
There will be acoustic music eventually and small, private events in the basement. Depending on the day and time, there may be a charge for the space or it could be free.
Ivy said she envisions groups such as book clubs using the space and can see creating specially themed cocktails for them.
She said she’s also interested in hosting high-end singles mixers and classes on cocktails.
“We’re going to have some fun with it.”
Look for more information closer to Oliver’s July opening.
