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Waterfront development to get new office park; Whole Foods to break ground in July

WICHITA — Another new area of development is coming to the Waterfront at 13th and Webb Road.

“We’ve got a small office park going in east of Bonefish,” says Stephen Clark II.

There will be up to nine lots on eight acres.

“It’s all office use,” Clark says.

Primarily, those offices will be medical, but there will be some service-type offices as well, such as financial services.

The lots are for sale, and the buyers will be the builders, though each building will be in what Clark calls the upscale Waterfront style.

“We have one so far and are talking to others,” Clark says of buyers.

He says the first deal will be announced in August.

Construction will start next week.

There’s still room for retail between Bonefish Grill and the new office park, but that will come later, Clark says.

There are several other areas in development at the Waterfront.

Planning is still underway for a new Class A, high-end apartment complex across the lake from Homewood Suites by Hilton at the Waterfront. Clark says schematics are now complete.

Also, the new 5,000-square-foot home for his father’s Clark Investment Group should be ready in two months.

The company currently is in 2,500 square feet near 13th and Rock Road in the Polo Club Office Park. The new office is off of Webb Road and across from Ciao Italian Kitchen on the Waterfront’s lake.

Over at Waterfront Plaza, which is on the northwest corner of 13th and Webb Road, construction is close to starting on the new Whole Foods grocery that will anchor the development.

“That starts in one month,” Clark says.

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You don’t say

“We might be a week earlier than that.”

Brent Steven, uttering words seldom heard when discussing a restaurant opening, explaining that the new Hill Bar and Grill will debut by June 29

Restaurant updates in Wichita, Derby

WICHITA — As always, there’s lots of restaurant news to update.

– The Burger Barn is closing this week. Owner Isaac McCann has had the restaurant at Central and Zoo Boulevard since January. He says poor sales and a dispute with his landlord have prompted him to close. Also, he’s in school to become a teacher.

“I’m just going to concentrate on my studies.”

McCann will close Saturday unless he runs out of food before then.

– In Derby, Dawn Thai Steakhouse & Sushi Bar is converting to Hibachi Boy Japanese Grill & More. Lou Kumgool still owns the business with her husband, Philip Sayavong.

“I just want to bring something fun and casual,” Kumgool says of the change.

She says she looked around and saw that people from the nearby high school and water park weren’t stopping in. She says too many people thought the restaurant was more formal, so she says she’s going to be “more casual, fun, inviting and family oriented.”

Kumgool is keeping the Dawn Thai menu and adding hibachi items and some other dishes and reopening Wednesday.

She says the new concept is similar to Panera Bread where customers order at a counter and get their own beverages.

“It’s more laid back that way.”

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Deal to buy Luca Italian Kitchen falls through, but Pho Hot Bistro owner Danny Nguyen still looking to open in Old Town

WICHITA — Restaurateur Melad Stephan is back from an overseas trip, so now it’s possible to ask about a little situation that happened with his Luca Italian Kitchen a few weeks ago.

Luca, the Old Town restaurant that replaced Stephan’s once-popular Uptown Bistro, has struggled since opening in 2011. It briefly closed around the time Stephan left for his native Lebanon and a European tour, but the closure wasn’t related to the trip.

Stephan had been negotiating for months with Pho Hot Bistro owner Danny Nguyen to sell him the restaurant.

Nguyen’s Vietnamese restaurant is at 306 N. Rock Road, and he’s interested in having one in Old Town as well.

“We just couldn’t come to an agreement,” Stephan says.

He says he thought the deal would go through, so he stopped ordering food. Stephan says when the sale didn’t happen, he’d already run out of food and had to briefly close.

Nguyen isn’t discussing what happened.

Luca is now open for dinner only. Stephan says he’s saving money by not having to pay for lunch labor. He says the restaurant will remain open, though he adds his standard line: “Everything I have is for sale for the right price.”

Nguyen says he’s still interested in coming downtown.

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You don’t say

“I can 90 percent promise that.”

Phung Van who, with his brother, Long, will take over his family’s My Tho restaurant in the coming year and likely no longer close the popular business (as it was for the last three months) for extended trips to Vietnam with his parents

Kwik Shop to open at Stonebridge June 26

WICHITA — As Have You Heard? reported in September, a new Kwik Shop is coming to the Stonebridge development at the southeast corner of 37th Street North and Maize Road.

It now has an opening date: June 26.

Kwik Shop, which is operated by Kroger, was the third business to announce its opening at Stonebridge followed by anchor tenant Menards and then Sonic last fall.

At the time, Kwik Shop director of real estate Clay Brasher said customers had been asking for a store in that area, and he said Kwik Shop wanted to expand its presence.

The store will have 10 fuel pumps, which can serve 20 vehicles for gas and diesel.

In addition to traditional Kwik Shop offerings, there will be grocery items and fresh food available. Brasher said the food selection will be extensive.

Former Dillons space at Douglas and Meridian sells and will be leased

WICHITA — The former Dillons at the southwest corner of Douglas and Meridian has sold, and a new occupant is likely to be in the building relatively soon.

Tom Schmeidler and a group of investors called DOME LLC — for Douglas and Meridian — closed on the building last week and are looking to lease it.

“There’s a couple of different entities that are very interested in it,” Schmeidler says.

One would take the entire 20,000-square-foot space, but Schmeidler says he’s opening to dividing the space between users.

The size of the building and its parking — there are about 120 spaces — made the purchase attractive, Schmeidler says.

“It’s a very stout building,” he says. “It’s a block building.”

It also has a basement.

“It’s in the core of Wichita, so if somebody needs to be close to downtown … this is close enough, plus this has the parking,” Schmeidler says. “There’s few buildings that are close to downtown that have the availability of that much parking.”

Brad Saville of Landmark Commercial Real Estate and Grant Tidemann of J.P. Weigand & Sons handled the sale. Saville also is representing DOME in leasing the space.

Jason-Paul Febres to open second Taste & See in part of former Doc Howard’s space

UPDATED – Jason-Paul Febres is heading back to Old Town.

“Now I’m moving back to my roots,” says the man who became known as Sabor Latin Bar & Grille’s first executive chef.

The Venezuela native is returning to Old Town with his own place — a second Taste & See.

“Well, first of all, it’s about time,” Febres says. “I don’t think it was a matter of if we were going to expand. It was a matter of when we were going to expand.”

Febres is taking 4,532 square feet at 252 N. Mosley, which is part of the space developer Dave Burk is converting at the former Doc Howard’s Lounge building.

“I love Old Town,” Febres says. “I like the crowded scene. That’s what I’m made for.”

Febres bounced around to various restaurants before opening Taste & See with a partner at Office This in the former Wichita Mall. Febres says he plans to keep that site, which will be open for lunch, classes and private events. It will be known as Taste & See The Venue.

The new Taste & See will be open seven days a week for lunch and dinner. Febres is planning a “very, very upscale tapas lounge” and “a beautiful patio.”

He’s also working on a new menu.

“It’s going to be a little more out there, and it’s going to be more fun,” Febres says. “I’m going to have the chance to play with more food than I was able to.”

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You don’t say

“I wish.”

Bigs Bar & Grill owner Juanita Albert, who is closing her 27-year-old business for a lot of reasons that unfortunately don’t include retirement

City to waive Century II parking fees for the weekend due to pay system issues

WICHITA — The city of Wichita is testing a new parking payment system at Century II, and so far, it’s not getting a stellar grade.

“This may not be the solution,” says John D’Angelo, the city’s director of arts and cultural services. “That’s why we call it a test.”

Particularly long lines for Music Theatre of Wichita this week had some people resorting to not paying instead of standing in long lines at one of four pay stations on the north end of the lot.

“We’re going to waive the enforcement of those for the rest of the weekend,” D’Angelo says. “We don’t want to keep people out in the heat. The lines for whatever reason have gotten really long.”

Part of the problem is one of the machines is malfunctioning, he says. The problem isn’t limited to this week, though.

“To be honest with you, no,” D’Angelo says. “With Music Theatre, we’re seeing a larger scale of that happening.”

Previously, Century II visitors had to pay at one of 325 parking meters at each parking spot. Those are still there, but they’re not in use while the new system is tested.

Testing began in May and will be done in the middle of July.

“We’re looking at ways to improve the situation,” D’Angelo says. “And you know, we’ve learned a lot from it. Not all good, but some bad.”

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