WICHITA — A new Emperor’s Japanese Grill is coming to the west side, and the original is staying put as well.
The latest Emperor’s will open in front of the Target near Maple and Ridge.
“We’re hoping early June,” says co-owner Nel Son.
The first Emperor’s opened almost eight years ago near 21st and Ridge. The second opened three years ago on the east side near Central and Greenwich.
The third restaurant will seat about 55.
Son says he has no other locations planned for now.
WICHITA — The Jack’s North Hi Carryout auction was today, but it didn’t sell – yet.
The highest bidder declined to proceed with the sale, which is unusual but not unheard of.
McCurdy Auction is still working with potential buyers, including one in particular, who were at the auction.
Since the building across from North High School is still for sale, other interested buyers who weren’t at the auction still have time to buy as well.
WICHITA — The 2-year-old Home Instead Senior Care is expanding.
“We’re basically living on top of each other,” says Michael Steinberg, who owns the business with his wife, Ewelina.
“I have an employee whose desk is in the break room.”
When the Steinbergs started the business, they had 20 employees in the field providing meal preparation, light housekeeping, transportation, errand running, assistance with personal care and companionship for seniors.
Now, there are 80 employees in the field and six at the office in about 1,300 square feet at 1919 N. Amidon. The Steinbergs are expanding into another 1,100 square feet next door.
“This will be enough space for probably the next two or three years,” Michael Steinberg says.
That may solve his space issue, but he still has another problem.
The Steinbergs moved here from Chicago, and Michael Steinberg told his wife the winter weather wouldn’t be bad.
“I was pretty sure we were done this time,” he says of wintery conditions.
Then came the April ice.
“I am in pretty big trouble with my wife.”
WICHITA — Recent Wichita State University graduate Neeti Patel is now a teacher – and a business owner at age 22.
Patel, who has a business management degree, is opening a Kumon Math and Reading Learning Center in the Hampton Lakes Retail Center at 4041 N. Maize Road.
“I went to Kumon as a child,” Patel says. “The program is amazing. I really believe in it. … Education’s really important to me.”
She says Kumon is a Japanese learning enrichment program for students of all ages. It focuses on math and reading.
“It is the world’s largest enrichment program,” Patel says. “The children actually end up learning the concepts on their own.”
She says Kumon instructors make sure there are no gaps in what the students are learning.
“We start them at a place where they know everything, and we go up from there,” Patel says. “We call it the comfortable starting point.”
She says that’s to build confidence for the students and help them enjoy what they’re doing.
“They actually learn to love the material,” Patel says. “I loved the program. My parents loved the program.”
She says Kumon also is good to franchisees.
WICHITA — A new SpringHill Suites by Marriott is coming to West Kellogg.
Wichita-based Mitesh Construction is building the 121-room hotel at 6633 W. Kellogg, which is on the east side of Texas Roadhouse.
“There was no Marriott brand on the west side of the town,” Mitesh Patel says.
He says he’d hope to bring a Courtyard by Marriott there but couldn’t.
“We had a little opposition from (the) downtown Courtyard,” Patel says.
His group also has the Fairfield Inn & Suites and Holiday Inn Express in Hutchinson along with the Best Western in Hiawatha.
Patel says he’s had 37 hotels that he’s bought and sold through the years.
“Our business is to run hotels and build them,” he says.
SpringHill Suites will open in spring or summer 2014.
Patel says the hotel will have 3,000 square feet of meeting space but won’t have a restaurant.
“We have Texas Roadhouse next door.”
WICHITA — Pete Rohleder has been working out at Fit Physique Fitness Center since he was 12 and working there since he was 16. After spending half his life there, he says he was ready to have his own place.
This week, he’s having a soft opening for his Pure Fitness Rx at 3460 N. Ridge Road.
“Fit Physique is a wonderful place … but I needed to grow professionally,” Rohleder says.
He got his master’s degree in exercise science last year and says, “I wanted to be able to offer more services.”
Rohleder calls himself an exercise physiologist.
“It allows me to be a little bit more in-depth and a little more comprehensive with my approach to health and fitness.”
He says he can incorporate more physiological tools for better results.
“I can help develop programs that are much more efficient.”
WICHITA — Associated Lumber is out of business.
“It’s just the economy and bad fortunes,” says owner Ron Hill.
He and his wife, Doris, had the business for 25 years.
That includes a west Wichita location at 1905 Southwest Blvd. and a Neodesha site that opened 16 years ago.
Ron Hill says the Wichita store suffered two thefts in the last year that totaled more than $25,000.
“And, of course, why do you have insurance?” he says. “It sure don’t cover it.”
Hill says larger competitors were a factor in their decision as well.
The Hills leased the buildings where their stores were. They’ll have auctions for the contents soon.
WICHITA — There’s a new salon coming to the northwest corner of Central and Maize Road, but some people may mistake it for a coffee shop. It’s a little of that, too, actually.
Christy Crites is moving her Java Salon from near 135th and Maple to Central and Maize.
The 1,400-square-foot space will have a coffee bar and free Wi-Fi.
“We want to have, like, that coffeehouse feel,” Crites says. “All of the colors and the ideas just kind of spark around that.”
She says it’s something her customers like.
“It was all inspired by them.”
Crites says the new space also is “a little bit more centrally located for our guests.” She says she thinks traffic flow is better in that area, too.
Java is a Redken Fifth Avenue Salon that sells Redken and Pureology products.
Crites says there’s a noncompete where she is now due to another salon that has nail services, but that will change with her new location.
“We’ll be able to expand our services.”
That will include manicures and pedicures.
Kirk Short, a broker with Re/Max Realty Professionals, handled the deal.
Look for the new Java space to open by May 1.
UPDATED — Shorty Small’s last day in business in Wichita was Feb. 24.
“Yesterday was a very emotional, very hard day,” says Cindy Harsha, vice president of the Oklahoma City-based company.
“I just can’t begin to tell you how emotional and hard it was.”
The restaurant opened more than seven years ago on the southwest corner of 119th and Maple in the Westlake shopping center.
“We opened to some really great numbers,” Harsha says. “Then, after about a year or so, things were dwindling.”
The restaurant initially was a fast-casual concept, but Harsha says the neighborhood wanted something more, so the chain remodeled into a full-service restaurant.
She says diners “really had a lovely reaction to that.”
Sales didn’t remain strong, though.
“Wichita seems to have suffered some economic hardships,” Harsha says. “We’re not the only ones the economy has been mean to.”
Road construction in the area didn’t help either, she says.
Another retooling of the restaurant last year also helped, though.
“We did have a nice little bounce back of sales this last spring,” Harsha says. “It seemed like a curtain fell down this summer.”
She blames a combination of gas prices and Boeing’s planned departure from the city followed by the Bombardier Learjet Machinists strike in the fall.
“It just was pretty devastating to sales.”
WICHITA — A new retail center is coming to the southwest corner of 29th and Tyler.
Cory Harkleroad of KW Commercial is marketing what will be a 12,000-square-foot center.
“This will be a retail building, but we could accept office,” Harkleroad says.
He says a lot of high-end homes are nearby that could benefit from all kinds of businesses at the center.
“The demographics in the area are absolutely incredible.”
Harkleroad says construction should start in the next month.