I’ve been hearing rumors about trouble at Holy land Mediterranean Grill, the Mediterranean restaurant that opened in August at 217 E. Douglas, and apparently, they’re true.
The restaurant shut down a few days ago.
Add it to the ever-growing list of short-lived restaurants in the space. I’ve wondered for years what plagues this building, which can’t seem to keep a tenant for more than a few months. I’m persuaded it’s a combination of the lack of parking and the one-way streets that line all sides of it, making it nearly impossible to double-back if you see a parking space on the other side of the street. In recent years, it’s also been the brief home of restaurants such as DK Kitchen, Thai Kitchen, Bamboo House and Coli.
I reached someone at Athena Jewelry next door (owner Sophokles “Steve” Anthimedes also owns and leases the Holy land space) and was told there’s no new tenant lined up yet.
We’ll have to get our garlic baths elsewhere now.
The space at 217 E. Douglas that has been home to roughly 32,921,673** restaurants over the past several years appears to be on the verge of getting a new occupant.
There’s a new bright yellow awning on the space that most recently housed the short-lived Onyx Bistro, and several signs in the windows feature pictures of delicious-looking Mediterranean dishes such as kibbeh and fattouch. The logo in the corner of the signs says “Holy land Mediterranean Grill.”
Sophokles “Steve” Anthimedes, who owns the space and runs Athena Jewelry next door, said he wasn’t quite ready to reveal all the details of the new tenant. He only would say that he was planning to lease the space to three businessmen from Illinois who run a successful restaurant chain there.
I looked up Holy land Mediterranean Grill online, and there is one with a matching logo operating out of Champaign, Ill. You can view its menu by taking a look at this website. It’s full of Mediterranean items familiar to Wichita diners, such as hummus, schwarma, kibbeh, kebabs, fattouch and more.
I’ll provide an update when Sophokles and his mystery tenants are ready to talk.
**I exaggerate. Slightly.
I’ve been hearing rumors about trouble at Holy land Mediterranean Grill, the Mediterranean restaurant that opened in August at 217 E. Douglas, and apparently, they’re true.
