Category Archives: Fast food

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

Kansas gets McRib back early

Nov. 19, 201210:56 a.m.

Kansas really, really loves the McRib — that here-today-gone-tomorrow McDonald’s sandwich that is much of a pop culture phenomenon as it is lunch.

The McRib — a pork patty topped with slivered onions, dill pickles and barbecue sauce on a toasted bun — won’t return to most McDonald’s menus across the country until mid-December. But because customers in Kansas love the sandwich so much, a local representative told me, we got it early.

They reappeared last week and will stick around until the end of January.

By Denise Neil | Tags: Filed under Fast food | Comments

Specials for costume wearers, voters

Oct. 24, 20122:32 p.m.

No sooner will Americans have recovered from the excitement of Halloween than they’ll head to the polls to elect a president.

They’re going to need fortification.

Luckily, several restaurants are offering food promotions in observation of the two big days.

On Halloween, Chipotle is putting on its Boorito promotion, which offers a $2 burrito, burrito bowl or order of tacos to anyone who comes in wearing a costume between 4 p.m. and close. Wichita has five Chipotles.

At Krispy Kreme, 7777 E. Central, customers who show up in costume on Halloween will get a free Halloween or pumpkin spice doughnut.

A few days later, Taco Bueno is putting on an event called “Guac the Vote.” Anyone who votes on Nov. 6 will be entitled to a free 2.5-oz. serving of guacamole and tortilla chips all day. No proof of voting is required. Taco Bueno is going to take your word for it. The event is designed to encourage voter turn-out, the company said. Wichita’s Taco Bueno restaurants are at 3530 N. Rock Road and 427 N. Hillside.

By Denise Neil | Tags: , , Filed under Fast food, Free food | Comments

Two new restaurants for the west side

Oct. 23, 201211:09 a.m.

The west side has one new restaurant as of today and will get another one on Nov. 5.

Wichita’s newest Chipotle is officially opening today at Maple and Ridge. The restaurant took over the spot at 7130 W. Maple that once held Scrapbook Garden.

It’s Wichita’s fifth Chipotle, and it joins the restaurants at Kellogg and Rock, at 29th and Rock, at 21st and Maize and at Central and Hillside. Its hour are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, and its phone number is 316-942-0263.

Another anticipated chain will open nearby on Nov. 5. Wichita’s first Mooyah, which will be operated by former KSN anchor Anthony Powell and his wife, is almost finished in the former Blockbuster spot at 352 S. West St.

There’s a Mooyah in Garden City that opened in May, and more are planned for the Wichita area. It specializes in burgers, fries and also has a long list of shakes, including chocolate chip cookie dough and peanut butter.

I called Powell this morning and interviewed him while he huffed and puffed on a stair master. He’s a health nut and said that Wichitans will be pleasantly surprised by the restaurant’s turkey burger and veggie burger, which he said both are unusually delicious.

The restaurant also will have several flat screen television sets mounted, so customers have the option of eating quickly and leaving or staying for a while to linger over a shake, he said.

Mooyah’s hours will also be 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

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

West Chick-fil-A opens tomorrow; Campout under way

Aug. 8, 201211:59 a.m.

The "First 100" campout is under way at the about-to-open Chick-fil-A at 21st and Maize.

Wichita’s second free-standing Chick-fil-A opens on Thursday, meaning Wichita’s second Chick-fil-A campout is under way.

About 125 people are set up with tents and card tables and games in the parking lot of the about-to-open Chick-fil-A at 10515 W. 21st St., where they’ve been gathered since 5:30 a.m. Their goal: to remain in the parking lot until 6 a.m. Thursday, when the restaurant officially opens. Those who do will win a coupon book good for free Chick-fil-A food for a year.

Owner/operator Jason Lansdown in his Chick-fil-A tie

It’s part of the chain’s “First 100″ event, which it puts on every time it opens a new store. An identical event drew a crowd of 150 campers when the east-side Chick-fil-A at 7990 E. Central opened in March.

Today’s crowd, which included alternates plus friends of registered campers,  was made up of adults, teens and kids from both Wichita and beyond. A 2-year-old girl napped on a blanket on the sidewalk against the building while four teenage boys played a game of four-square nearby. Four people played cards at a folding table under a tent while children navigated the parking lot tent village on their scooters. One woman identified herself as a professional Chick-fil-A camper, who drove from Oklahoma City to participate. This was her fourth “First 100″ campout.

Among the campers was Bryan Aubuchon, whose 3-year-old daughter, Nicole, developed an affinity for Chick-fil-A while on vacation in Kansas City this summer. She loved the playground and the food. “It’s all she ever talks about,” he said with a laugh. “She dances around singing ‘Chick-fil-A. Chick-fil-A.’”

Aubuchon took off work for the campout. Though he planned to man the tent throughout the hot day on Wednesday, he promised Nicole she could sleep in the tent overnight.

Owner/operator Jason Lansdown was on-site wearing his Chick-fil-A tie on Wednesday morning. He said that police officers will be stationed at the restaurant Thursday through Saturday at least to help direct traffic in and out of the restaurant, which is surrounded by hard-to-navigate road construction at 21st and Maize.

One camper's cart of supplies

The restaurant opens at 6 a.m. Thursday. Hours are 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.

Also, until 9 p.m. tonight, the Kansas Food Bank will be at Chick-fil-A collecting donations for the “Food for Kids” program, which sends food home with schoolchildren in need. Particularly needed, officials said, are items such as granola bars and peanut butter. Anyone who drops off a donation by 3 p.m. will receive a coupon for a free Chick-fil-A sandwich. Donations can also be made by clicking on the Chick-fil-A logo at www.kansasfoodbank.org. Customers can bring in the receipt and collect a sandwich coupon.

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

Details on Chick-fil-A camp out, sandwich giveaway

Aug. 3, 201210:58 a.m.

Chick-fil-A west is ready to go.

Wichita’s second free-standing Chick-fil-A will open at 6 a.m. on Thursday at 10515 W. 21st St., and owner/operator Jason Lansdown admits the timing is… interesting.

As Lansdown feverishly prepared to open the restaurant this week, publicity and opinions have been swirling about the company CEO’s announced opposition to gay marriage and a national “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day” that  on Wednesday drew crowds of supporters to restaurants across the country, including in Wichita. A counter-protest “kiss-in” is planned for today.

When I talked called him this morning, Lansdown seemed reluctant to talk much about the events of the week and said he was trying to keep from getting distracted by it all, instead focusing on getting the building and staff ready. But he did say it was bizarre to be staring down an opening date with the chain so prominently in the headlines. “There’s definitely some awareness out there, that’s for sure,” he said.

Today, Lansdown’s crew will be distributing free Chick-fil-A sandwiches near the Best Buy and Walmart at New Market Square, 21st and Maize. They’ll start at about 11 a.m. and expect the 2,000 or so sandwiches to go quickly. (They’ve been conducting the giveaways all over town this week.)

Then, on Wednesday, they’ll start the “First 100″ camp out that’s a standard Chick-fil-A practice when restaurants first open. The east-side Chick-fil-A’s camp out drew big crowds and created a parking lot tent city back in March.

Those interested in participating should show up no sooner than 5:30 a.m. and no later than 6 a.m. Employees will distribute bracelets with numbers to everyone who arrives during that time, then at 6 a.m. they’ll randomly draw 100 numbers. Those 100 people must camp on site until 6 a.m. Thursday morning, when they’ll be treated to breakfast and their prize — a coupon book good for a year’s worth of food at the restaurant. Details can be found on the restaurants Facebook page.

Once open, hours will be 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. For more information, call 316-721-2697.

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

The official official opening date for Chick-fil-A west

June 22, 201210:27 a.m.

It's getting close.

The corporate bigwigs met with the construction bosses, put their calculators together and came up with the magical, official opening date for new new Chick-fil-A under construction at 10515 W. 21st St.

Thursday, Aug. 9.

Until yesterday, they’d be planning on July 25, but the Aug. 9 date was arrived at using more exact Chick-fil-Science, said owner/operator Jason Lansdown. That means that the campout, which promises free Chick-fil-A for a year to the first 100 people through the door, will  commence on Wednesday, Aug. 8.

Lansdown said he’d offer more details as the date grew closer. Here’s hoping that nasty 21st and Maize Road construction is well wrapped up by then.

By Denise Neil | Tags: Filed under Fast food | Comments

Ground breaking today for west Chick-fil-A

April 10, 20129:21 a.m.

Just when you thought the local Chick-fil-Hype had subsided … nope.

Owner/operator Jason Lansdown will officially break ground this morning on the west side stand-alone Chick-fil-A, scheduled to open in July at 10515 W. 21st St. (right at the corner of 21st and Maize.) The 10 a.m. VIP ceremony will have city officials, dancing cows and chicken excitement to spare.

The new restaurant will have a 4,275 square-foot interior that seats 144 and a play area for kids. Another camp out will be staged the night before it opens, guaranteeing free Chick-fil-A for a year to the first 100 people though the door.

Start gathering you camping supplies now.

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

Wichita Chick-fil-A has third biggest opening ever

March 16, 20125:00 p.m.

I know I said I was done posting about Chick-fil-A for a while, but I couldn’t NOT tell you this.

Wichita’s Chick-fil-A, which opened for business at 6 a.m. on Thursday, had the third biggest grand opening day in the chain’s history, said franchise owner Brad Fuller. There are 1,610 Chick-fil-As across the country.

The only other Chick-fil-As to ever have a bigger opening sales day were two in the Chicago area that opened a year and a half ago. The combined sales of two other Chick-fil-As that opened on Thursday, one in Tennessee and one in New Jersey, didn’t match Wichita’s, Fuller said.

I can believe it. I happened to be in the Central and Rock area on Thursday morning, and it was chaos — chaos that required blocked traffic lanes and several police cars.

There. Now I’m done.

By Denise Neil | Tags: Filed under Fast food, Just opened | Comments

Chick-fil-A campout: Tents, wind and pedestrians in the drive-through

March 14, 20124:26 p.m.

A shot of the wind-blown tent city outside Chick-fil-A this afternoon.

Here’s the story I wrote this afternoon after visiting the ca-razy campers spending the night at Chick-fil-A.

The campers included people from Wichita as well as people from out of town, including some who follow Chick-fil-A openings like they were the Dave Matthews Band.

I saw kids playing on scooters, people constructing jigsaw puzzles on card tables inside their tents, and a couple studying for a test in the bright sun.

A couple of guys started a game of four square in the parking lot, and several were on air mattresses in their tents, snoozing the afternoon away.

The best detail I heard: To get their catered breakfast and lunch, campers lined up and walked through the drive through.

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