Category Archives: About-to-open

Frida’s is back — but with a new name

April 9, 201310:43 a.m.

Oh, piratas. How I’ve missed you.

I needed some good news today.

And I got it, from Mario Quiroz, former owner of only my favorite Wichita Mexican restaurant ever — Frida’s at 1580 W 21st St. The restaurant, known for its amazing piratas and cursed traffic situation, closed in 2010.

Quiroz has dreamed of reopening it ever since but couldn’t find the right spot — until now. He’s taking over the former Las Tias de Beto spot at 1064 N. Waco, right next to Juarez Bakery.

The restaurant will be called Molino’s Mexican Cuisine, and Quiroz will serve everything he used to serve at Frida’s and then some. He’ll have the piratas, the tacos, the salsa bar and will add other dishes. He’s also making the restaurant full-service rather than order-at-the-counter.

Quiroz has been working for the past several years as a sales rep for US Foods, and Manuel Fernandez, owner of Juarez Bakery and Las Tias de Beto, was one of his clients. Quiroz says he’ll keep that job, and his wife will run the new restaurant. They decided not to call it Frida’s because they wanted a fresh start.

The restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner seven days a week. Quiroz hopes to have it ready to go by the end of April. I’ll keep you posted.

By Denise Neil | Tags: , , Filed under About-to-open, Mexican food | Comments

Schwarma truck to be called The Hopping Pita

Feb. 22, 20134:12 p.m.

Initially, they were going to call it Pita Hut.

Then, Melad Stephan, his son, Jordan, and chef Roni Attari thought better of it.

They’ve decided to call their Lebanese food truck, which should take to the streets soon, The Hopping Pita. 

That name beat out several other clever runners up, including my personal favorite — Eat a Pita.

The Hopping Pita’s launch has been slightly delayed by recent weather developments, but it’s close, Stephan said. He shared this photo of the finished, green product.

I’ll let you know when it’s ready to go.

By Denise Neil | Tags: Filed under About-to-open, Food trucks | Comments

Cake Face finds spot for new eatery

Feb. 22, 201311:00 a.m.

The Cake Face logo

Cake Face food truck owners Summer Schoenhals and her husband, Dave, called to let me know that they signed a lease on a building that will house their new, not-mobile restaurant –  Cake Face Bake Shop & Deli.

The spot is at 1100 E. Douglas, which is at the corner of Douglas and Wabash. The space previously held part of Kitchens Plus.

The duo hope to be open by May 1. They’re waiting on the previous tenants to remove their displays, then they’ll add a kitchen and do a little remodeling. The front half of the 1,478 square-foot-space will hold the restaurant, and Schoenhals will house her bakery business in the back half.

The restaurant will serve breakfast and lunch, including some of the more sought-after dishes from the food truck, which the couple hope to put in the hands of their oldest daughter once she graduates.

Among the items they’re planning: grits, “Wafflewiches” and several sandwiches and lunch specials, such as chicken and dumplings.

By Denise Neil | Tags: Filed under About-to-open, Food trucks | Comments

Spice Merchant opening a tea room

Feb. 18, 201310:25 a.m.

Bob Boewe, tea man

Tea rooms have come and gone from Wichita over the years — but mostly gone lately.

Wichita’s local tea expert Bob Boewe plans to change that soon. By the end of this week, Boewe will open a new tea room in The Spice Merchant, the shop he runs at 1308 E. Douglas.

It’ll be called Tea Room at The Spice Merchant, and it will be set up in the building’s mezzanine that faces Douglas. Boewe said he’s refreshed the room with bright colors and inviting decor, and it’ll seat about 50.

The tea room won’t serve lunch or high tea, but he will serve scones, cookies and brownies baked on site, as well as daily selection of the shop’s many teas.

Last fall, Boewe opened Eli and Alan Teas for all Tastes in a space in his shop that until 2004 housed a popular lunch spot. He initially planned to put a few tables in the space for tea service but ran out of space. Several customers had asked him to find a way to offer tea service, Boewe said, especially since all of Wichita’s tea rooms have closed over the past several years.

The tea room will be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m.  to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. Boewe says he will accept appointments for large groups of tea drinkers.

Call 316-263-4121 for more information.

By Denise Neil | Tags: Filed under About-to-open, Tea rooms | Comments

Coming soon: Bud E. Roosters

Jan. 28, 201310:41 a.m.

A new restaurant is under construction in the spot next to Orange Leaf near the west side Warren Theatre that will sell chicken fingers, chicken sandwiches, chicken nuggets, fries and a whole lot of sauces.

Called Bud E. Roosters, the restaurant already has a sign, a Facebook page, a menu and more. What it doesn’t have yet is an interior. At the moment, the space is full of bare walls, dangling wires and construction equipment.

The space, which is at 8918 W. 21st St., previously held Go! Steaks.

You can see the menu here. I’ll let you know when there’s an official opening date.

By Denise Neil | Tags: , Filed under About-to-open, Fast food, Fried chicken | Comments

Opening next week: new bar, old diner

Jan. 25, 201310:14 a.m.

A couple of businesses plan to open their doors next week, and one is right down the block from me.

Jon’s Ale House should open on Tuesday in the former Kelly’s Irish Pub spot at 917 E. Douglas, next door to The Beacon. Its focus will be craft beers from labels such as New Belgium, Free State, Tallgrass and more. The bar also will serve breakfast and lunch and is planning a menu filled with cold cut sandwiches, salads and soups such as a Guinness beef and vegetable soup. They’ll also have a few franks, including a quarter pounder topped with bacon and blue cheese.

Hours will be 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. Owner Anthony Lynch has all but gutted the place, adding new furniture, new restrooms and a new bar top attractively decorated with craft beer labels.

Across town, Chuck Giles, the owner of Neighbors Restaurant & Bar at 2150 N. Amidon, says he’s almost ready to reopen Brint’s Diner at 4834 E. Lincoln. The restaurant, set up in a classic Valentine Diner building, was closed by former owner Jessie Medina back in October. Giles hopes to be ready to go by Thursday.

By Denise Neil | Tags: , , Filed under About-to-open, Bar food, Beer, Diners, Lunch, Restaurant reopenings | Comments

Cake Face planning a stationary spot

Jan. 22, 20136:50 p.m.

Behold: The Cake Face “wafflewich.”

The Cake Face food truck has been rolling the streets of Wichita since last summer, spreading the gospel of bacon cheese grits, waffle sandwiches and ridiculously sweet and tasty pastries.

Now, owners  Summer Schoenhals and her husband, Dave, are looking at a location that doesn’t move.

The couple is in negotiations with a landlord to open Cake Face Bake Shop & Deli. They don’t want to say where it is until the ink is dry, but the restaurant would likely open in early April and would serve breakfast and lunch. The couple plans to offer some of its most famous creations from the truck and also would use the space to create its baked goods.

The food truck wouldn’t be parked permanently, though. The couple’s oldest daughter is about to graduate and wants to go into the food biz, so she’d keep the Cake Face truck on the road.

Summer says she’d serve the grits, her increasingly famous “Wafflewiches” and several sandwiches and lunch specials, such as chicken and dumplings, from the truck rotation.

I’ll let you know if and when they sign the lease.

By Denise Neil | Filed under About-to-open, Food trucks | Comments

Savories Tasty Shop will open soon

Jan. 15, 201311:14 a.m.

The inside of the about-to-open Savories Tasty Shop & Coffee House.

Savories Tasty Shop & Coffee House, a new stop for donuts, pastries and coffee drinks, is set to open in a couple of weeks in the Mid American Credit Union branch 2900 Webb Road.

The shop is owned by Shawn Blattner, one half of the duo that created Dolci & Joes. That sandwich shop operated at 3425 E. Douglas (where Taco Tinga is now) opened in 2009 but closed a year ago.

Savories, which will open on Feb. 11, will have a drive-through and seating for about 18. It’ll open to anyone — not just credit union members — and it’ll serve donuts from the Flying Donuts, cupcake-shaped servings of cheesecake, carrot cake, chocolate cake and more, and a full line 0f coffee drinks.

Hours will be 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.

Blattner said he and Josh Crowe still hope to bring Dolci & Joes food back to Wichita some time, but it’ll likely be two or three years from now. The problem with their spot, Blattner said, was that there wasn’t enough parking. Business went way down after College Hill Deli & Catering opened next door in 2010, and Blattner theorizes that parking was part of that.

By Denise Neil | Tags: , , , Filed under About-to-open, Coffee, Donuts | Comments

Los Pinos taking over Delano bierocks spot

Jan. 9, 20132:08 p.m.

Coming soon to Delano: Los Pinos. Photo courtesy of delanowichita.com

UPDATE!!!!!

I stopped by Los Pinos at 1225 W. Douglas and talked to owner Gustavo Hernandez, who was working in the tiny restaurant this morning.

He hopes to be open by Saturday, he said. Hernandez, a first-time restaurant owner, will man the kitchen with his brother. The menu, which Hernandez shared with me, includes tacos, enchiladas, fajitas, quesadillas and burritos. It also lists several burgers, including a spicy burger topped with pepper jack cheese, grilled onions and jalapenos.  You can inspect the full menu here.

Hours will be 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays and Mondays and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.  For more information, call 316-371-3384.

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There’s a new restaurant going in to the Delano building where Mary Hansen recently closed her Bierocks, Brats n’ BBQ.

A sign on the building at 1225 W. Douglas promises Los Pinos, a Mexican restaurant.

No word yet on an opening date, but I’ll get to the bottom of that soon.

By Denise Neil | Filed under About-to-open, Mexican food | Comments

Restaurants opening in 2013

Jan. 3, 201312:19 p.m.

Brent Steven, left, and his brother Brad plan to open the Hill Bar and Grill this spring in the old Barrier’s space at Douglas and Oliver.

A new year means a new menu of restaurants set to open in Wichita.

For this week’s Go! section, I put together my annual list of restaurants to look forward to in the new year.

Though my list covers the first few months of 2013 pretty well, rest assured that more and more will be added as the months go on.

Sushi. Steak. Burgers. Beef. It’s gonna be another delicious year in Wichita.

By Denise Neil | Filed under About-to-open | Comments