Soma Intimates to open at Bradley Fair

May 21, 20125:00 a.m.

WICHITA — Chico’s FAS Inc. is bringing another new store to Bradley Fair.

Almost seven years ago, the Florida-based Chico’s opened two brands – Chico’s and White House/Black Market – at the development.

Now, the company has plans to open Soma Intimates, which sells lingerie and sleepwear.

“Because the women of Wichita have embraced Chico’s and White House/Black Market, the company is eager … to bring Soma to Bradley Fair,” says Cathy Erickson, vice president at Laham Development.

The first Soma Intimates opened in 2004. Now there are almost 200 of the boutiques nationally.

The Bradley Fair store, which will be between Brick’s and Trio’s, will be 2,520 square feet.

“We’re taking excess space not being used by Brick’s and building that out for Soma,” Erickson says.

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By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Filed under Bradley Fair, East side, New business, Real estate, Retail | Comments (0)

NuWay to return to 21st and Amidon area

May 18, 20123:39 p.m.

WICHITA — It’s been a long time coming, but NuWay finally is returning to the 21st and Amidon area.

The restaurant is going to open west of the intersection at 2135 W. 21st St., which will make the sixth NuWay in Wichita for the 82-year-old chain.

The Lotus Garden had been in that spot for 25 years. It was torn down earlier this week.

“We’ve been trying to open this thing for a year and a half,” says Chris Stong, director of operations.

It was about two decades ago that the NuWay closed at Twin Lakes on the southeast corner of the intersection.

“It was an absolutely fantastic location,” Stong says.

Then, occupancy faltered at the development, he says, and the restaurant left. Stong says he and his family have long wanted to open a new restaurant in the area.

“We think the neighborhood is fantastic,” he says. “Obviously, with everything else going on in the area, it’s a great location.”

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By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , Filed under New business, Real estate, Restaurants, West side | Comments (0)

GoTimeTraining.com opens Monday

May 18, 20122:45 p.m.

WICHITA — GoTimeTraining.com may sound like some kind of Internet-only business, but personal trainers Shannon Dykman and his girlfriend, Kalene Smith, are set to open their new facility on Monday.

The two are opening a new 1,900-square-foot facility just north of Star Lumber at K-96 and Greenwich.

Clients can sign up for 12-week or 16-week training online. More traditional training is available as well along with boot camps.

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , Filed under Health clubs, Real estate | Comments (0)

Body Central to open at NewMarket Square

May 18, 20121:57 p.m.

WICHITA — Florida-based Body Central is opening a second Wichita store, this time in NewMarket Square at 21st and Maize Road.

The first Body Central, a clothing store that caters to young women, is at Towne East Square.

“Your part of the country has been very successful for us,” says Matt Swartwood, senior vice president of stores.

“We have a solid group of stores in Kansas City. We do some great business in Oklahoma.”

The chain also is in Topeka.

Swartwood describes the store as “junior fast fashion,” meaning it quickly turns whatever the latest fashions are for the junior set.

Competitors include Charlotte Russe, Forever 21 and Wet Seal.

The 4,000-square-foot store will open next to Carter’s at NewMarket Square.

April Reed of Slawson Cos. handled the deal.

If all goes well, look for the store to open in August.

“We just see this as part of filling in the market,” Swartwood says. “We’re just awfully excited to come to your city with another store.”

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , , , , , Filed under New business, NewMarket Square, Real estate, Retail | Comments (0)

You don’t say

May 17, 20124:32 p.m.

“Like I said from the very beginning, I was doing it for my son.”

– Michelle’s Beach House owner Michelle Borin on how her son, Brandon, is going into the Navy so she’s trying to sell the Garage Bar & Grill that he’s managed in Delano

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , Filed under Bars, Delano | Comments (0)

Gold’s Gym may not come to Wichita after all

May 17, 20123:52 p.m.

WICHITA — As Have You Heard? has chronicled the ever-growing list of new workout facilities coming to town, the natural follow-up question has been, “Can Wichita support all these places?”

Apparently, the folks at Gold’s Gym may have been wondering the same thing.

No one with the Texas-based company could be reached for comment, but it looks like Gold’s may not be headed here after all.

In January, Coleman Brown, director of real estate for TRT Holdings in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, told Have You Heard? that “we have identified Wichita as a market that we are going to build out, and we do have some sites that we’re currently working.”

It looked like the company wanted at least three gyms in different locations across Wichita. A deal at Harry and Rock was close to being finalized.

Planet Fitness may have had an impact on Gold’s decision to come here.

The chains negotiated for some of the same spaces. For instance, Gold’s apparently wanted to locate at 21st and Amidon, but Planet Fitness got the deal done. This may have affected the Harry and Rock deal.

At best, Gold’s plans for the market appear to be on hold. We’ll let you know if that changes.

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , Filed under Health clubs, Real estate | Comments (0)

Willis Group Holdings realigns its Willis of Greater Kansas office

May 17, 20125:00 a.m.

WICHITA — Willis of Greater Kansas, which is an insurance brokerage firm specializing in employee benefits and property casualty business, is undergoing a few changes.

Parent company Willis Group Holdings, which is based in New York and London, is doing the realignment.

“What we’re simply trying to do — it’s not complicated — is just allow for more client focus in Wichita,” says Paty Daves, the regional partner for Kansas.

Daves is based out of the firm’s Overland Park office.

Former Wichita managing partner Eric McCurley has been reassigned. Daves says he can’t say what McCurley’s new title is yet, but he’ll “be more growth focused.”

“He can focus more on growing the business, and that’s really what we’re trying to do,” Daves says.

He says the Wichita office had too much administration.

“Admin doesn’t create value for our clients,” Daves says. “We’re just trying to refocus our people on clients, and that’s the bottom line.”

He says the company, which has about 40 employees in Wichita, isn’t losing workers but is creating more time for them to serve clients better.

“We’re investing in Wichita,” he says. “You’ll see us adding people in Wichita.”

He can’t say how many jobs that may mean, but the positions will be in client service and sales roles.

“We’re actively searching for people right now.”

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , Filed under Insurance | Comments (0)

Max Cole isn’t giving up the fight for a new library at his Office This development

May 16, 20125:46 p.m.

WICHITA — Office This developer Max Cole isn’t giving up his dream of a progressive southeast library without a fight.

In September, Have You Heard? reported that Cole made an offer to the city to do a 60,000-square-foot library at the development in the former Wichita Mall at 4031 E. Harry. At the time, Cole said he would charge $5 a square foot and throw in an extra 20,000 square feet for storage.

This week, when Cole heard the Wichita City Council approved further study of a scaled-back central library at Second and McLean, he fired off a quick e-mail to director of libraries Cynthia Berner Harris.

“I thought the economic downturn would cause the Library Board to be more realistic about the Central Library plan,” Cole wrote. “But I was wrong!”

He called the plan a “proposed book museum with computers in the downtown area.”

“The plan is so out of touch, it’s embarrassing,” Cole wrote.

He copied the e-mail to several others, including District 3 City Council member James Clendenin.

“He doesn’t pull any punches – ever,” Clendenin says of Cole. “I was somewhat speechless at first.”

He says he’s not against Cole’s proposal.

“What is the library of the future going to look like? I think Max has a really good idea of what that could look like.”

Cole wrote that he’s proposing “a digital-age vocational library that is intended to close the achievement gap in Southeast Wichita, where it is most needed … .”

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By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , Filed under Libraries, Real estate | Comments (0)

You don’t say

May 16, 20124:05 p.m.

“I do go drive over and visit it.”

– Bruce Rowley of Rowley Snyder Ablah, talking about his new LED billboard on the northeast corner of Kellogg and Rock, which means he now owns an advertising outlet in addition to an ad agency

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , Filed under Advertising, You don't say | Comments (0)

Simon Property Group hires local firm to market space

May 16, 201211:12 a.m.

WICHITA — It’s not exactly news when new space is available at a mall, but Jeff Englert makes a good case for 8,000 square feet that he and Grubb & Ellis/Martens Commercial Group colleagues are marketing at Towne East Square.

“To my knowledge, it’s the first time that Simon used third-party brokers in Wichita,” he says of Simon Property Group, which owns the mall.

Perhaps more significantly, Englert says, “They want to go after nontraditional mall tenants for this.”

Not that he and fellow brokers Nathan Farha and Grant Glasgow won’t look at retail.

“Retail is definitely going to be our first play there.”

However, Simon has had some luck with nonretail tenants, such as Wright Career College.

“They want to explore that some more,” Englert says.

The space is located on the west side of Towne East between Dillard’s and Sears at the second-most busy main entrance of the mall. Englert says it’s possible to add a glass exterior so the space is visible from outside the mall.

After retail, Englert says there could be possibilities such as office users, educational facilities or a fitness center.

He says he’ll soon have news on a new Towne West Square tenant.

“This will be pretty big news, let’s put it that way.”

Look for it in about a month or so.

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , , , , , Filed under East side, Real estate, Towne East Square, Towne West Square, West side | Comments (0)