Daily Archives: Jan. 14, 2010

You don’t say

Jan. 14, 20106:40 p.m.

“I don’t care if it never snows again.”

—Restaurateur Jim Stevens, who owns numerous concepts including the local Applebee’s franchise, on how much snow hurts his business

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , Filed under You don't say | Comments

Zelman’s downtown building ready to lease

Jan. 14, 20106:36 p.m.

WICHITA — After not being home to much activity for the last several years, the Zelman’s building at the northeast corner of St. Francis and Douglas is ready for new tenants.

“If you take a look at the studies and downtown revitalizing, this is the prime location, and I think we owe it to the city and to the community to do something with the corner,” says David Moses, whose family has occupied the building since the 1920s and has owned it for decades.

Moses is a lawyer at Case Moses Zimmerman & Martin, but he says, “If I didn’t have my own professional career right now, it would be kind of neat to try and continue what my grandfather started back in the ’20s.

“It’d be neat to try to do a men’s clothing store down there again.”

Moses’ grandfather, Sam Zelman, immigrated here from Czechoslovakia in 1920 and started his Zelman’s clothing store in the ’20s with the intention of bringing his family here once he got established.

“By the time he was able to do that, Hitler was taking power,” Moses says.

“By the time my grandfather was able to make all the arrangements, it was too late.”

Read More »

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , , , , Filed under Downtown, Leases, Real estate | Comments Off

Maharaja Cuisine of India plans to move

Jan. 14, 20104:21 p.m.

WICHITA — Maharaja Cuisine of India, which opened at 1701 N. Broadway last year, is moving to 3008 W. Central where New York Cafe once was.

“I think that is a better location,” owner Raj Singh says.

“People don’t like to come here in the evening,” he says of his current space.

Singh plans to keep the same menu, including his lunch buffet, and the same hours. Maharaja is open daily except Mondays.

The new restaurant will open late this month or early in February.

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , Filed under Leases, Real estate, Restaurants | Comments

Muse-E-Yum to close next month

Jan. 14, 20106:00 a.m.

WICHITA — The peripatetic Muse-E-Yum — which opened in Old Town in 2003, then moved to Central and Woodlawn and then to Douglas and Rock — is now closing.

“We’ve given this a shot,” says owner Jan Green.

She and her husband, Ron, now have other plans.

“We started a Web-based travel business a few months ago,” she says. “I really want to devote more of my time to that.”

The economy also is a factor.

“Things are really unpredictable right now,” Green says. “That’s part of it, but it’s not all of it.”

The bigger thing is that the Greens love travel.

“Doing the business part of it just makes sense for us,” Jan Green says.

Their business is at www.freeasabird.rovia.com.

“I’m just loving it,” Green says.

She liked retail, too, but Green says, “I just don’t like being tied down so much.”

Muse-E-Yum most likely will close by late February, but that could change depending on when there’s a new tenant for the space.

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , Filed under Closings, Retail | Comments