These Wichita restaurants have quietly closed over the last weeks and months
Do you ever drive down the street, see a restaurant that looks sort of deserted and say to yourself, “Hey, is that place even still open?”
Several restaurants around Wichita have quietly, without much fanfare, closed their doors over the past weeks and months, leaving people wondering what happened.
Here’s a list of some of Wichita’s “quiet closings.” If you’re wondering about any other empty-looking spaces, drop an email to dneil@wichitaeagle.com, and I’ll investigate.
Andaluz Bar, 2106 N. Amidon: Oscar Manuell Sanchez opened this restaurant specializing in Cancun-style Mexican dishes in August 2021. But he closed it several months ago and has erased all of its social media pages.
Bai Wei, 3008 W. Central: This Asian restaurant operated for nearly 14 years in a strip center near Pawnee and Rock Road. It closed in the spring, though, and now a new restaurant has taken over the space, which has been completely remodeled. Oishi, which serves poke and ramen, opened last week.
Tamales & Monchis GTO, 1920 W. 21st St.: Last May, a restaurant specializing in fresh-made tamales and Mexican snacks opened in the former Uno Mas spot near 21st and Amidon. But it morphed earlier this year into a restaurant called Super Doggos, which has since closed.
Angela’s, 300 S. Greenwich: The city’s last remaining Angela’s cafe closed this spring, with the owner citing “personal reasons” in a Facebook post in March. It first opened in the fall of 2021.
Azul 21, 2119 W. 21st St.: This Mexican restaurant moved last year from 2959 S. Hillside into the former Angela’s Cafe spot near 21st and Amidon. But it didn’t last long there and closed earlier this year.
Walt’s All-American Bar & Grill, 5534 W. Central: Last summer, 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. Bhakta did not return messages about the closing.
Sumo, 11233 E 13th St.: This closing wasn’t necessarily quiet, as the Eagle reported on it in March, but Sumo — which moved from North Rock Road to its fancy Plazzio home in 2006 — finally closed after years of rumors. A new restaurant called Umi Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar is set to take over the space.
Classic Town & Country, 2315 W. 21st St. Billy Wood really tried to make a revival of the old Town & Country on West Kellogg work, even moving his restaurant last October from its original spot at K-42 and South Maize Road, where it had been since March 2020, to the former Neighbors spot on West 21st Street. But he couldn’t make it work there, either, citing slow business and issues with the building.
Baskin-Robbins, 21st and Webb Road, 21st and Tyler: Wichita is now a Baskin-Robbins-free zone, having lost both stores in March. Now, the ice cream chain’s two locations sit sad and empty. The chain never returned calls seeking an explanation.
Tutors Pizza, 524 S. Seneca and 3817 W. 13th St.: David Thompson opened two Tutors Pizza restaurants last summer, but neither lasted long. The one in the former Knolla’s spot on West 13th Street closed in December followed by the one in the former Clutch House space in February.
Chuyitos Birrieria, 1415 W. Pawnee: This Mexican restaurant closed in February, but the news is not all bad. The restaurant is about to reopen in a new spot at 511 N. West Street, and its old spot at Pawnee and Seneca has a new tenant: Ooo LaLa Stone Pho opens in the space on Saturday.
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 bricks-and-mortar cafe in the FireWorx building. But she and her business partner decided to close the business in February. The space now has a new tenant: Paranormal Cafe.
Biryani Express, 2849 W. 13th St.: Ahsan Tahir opened a small to-go biryani restaurant out of his Super Express gas station in August of last year but closed it not long after.
Big Arbor, 4311 W. Central: This burger restaurant opened in April of 2022 in a strip center on West Central, but it was gone by January, with owners citing “the burden of the building” as a reason for the closure.
No Bake Cafe, 3700 E. Douglas: Delica Ewert was 19 in 2020 when she took over No Bake Cafe, a tiny shop on the edge of Clifton Square that sold safe-to-eat raw cookie dough. But the cafe, which originally opened in December 2018 and went through several owners, ceased its normal operations in December 2022. The space now has a new tenant: 18-year-old Maley Hansen opened a new snow cone business in the space and named it ICY-T.
Electric Pizza, 240 S. West St.: Joseph Fowler gave the pizza business — and briefly the Cajun food business — a good try in Wichita. But in October, he quietly closed the last of his local restaurants: Electric Pizza at Maple and West, which originally opened in 2018. He opened a second Electric Pizza location in the former Pizza Hut building at Central and Tyler in June 2021 but decided it was too close to his other pizza restaurant and changed it to T’Geaux Cajun in late November of that year. But it closed a few months later, and the space is now home to a Chick N Max. Fowler recently said he had a couple of other restaurant ideas he was hoping to try, but those fell through, and he’s currently out of the restaurant business.
Juarez Bakery South, 2209 S. Seneca: Juarez Bakery opened a south-side outlet in September 2015, but although the signage is still on the building, the south-side bakery has been closed for nearly a year. The original is still going strong at 1068 N. Waco.
