— Juanita Hayes-Hill, who turned 75 this month and decided to sell her 45-year-old Little Pals Day Care Center near 2739 N. Hillside

Friday, it’s finally happening.

“I’m so nervous,” Eunice Kim says.

She says it’s been a long time since she started a restaurant from scratch, and even though this is a small one, it’s proven to be difficult.

The Kims are planning express-style Korean food in the space the Wichita Police Department substation previously occupied.

One of the restaurant’s highlights will be a bibimbap station where customers can select vegetables and meat to eat over rice with a flavorful chili sauce on the side, which is a traditional Korean dish.

Eunice Kim says she hopes to ease into the new restaurant with a soft opening.

The nine lots on the lower right of this aerial map show where the newest development at the Waterfront will go.

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.

That development is 70,000 square feet, which includes one pad site.

Clark says the space should be turned over to Whole Foods by February, and the store should open by August or September 2014, which is more than half a year later than expected.

When the store opens, it won’t have the traditional Whole Foods name because of the unrelated Whole Foods markets already in Wichita. Though the name will be different, Clark says the store will be “exactly the same.”

Whole Foods will be at the southern end of the development. There’s an office parcel that’s at the north end of the development, and Clark says there’s already a done deal there.

“They will be announcing very soon.”

Space for stores in addition to Whole Foods will be ready before the grocery because they’re simpler to build, Clark says. Thanks to Whole Foods, he’s not expecting to have a hard time filling them.

“Their presence has allowed us to sit at the table with some really exciting national tenants.”

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

– 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.”

– Also in Derby, Kigoi is opening in the former Kobe Steak House of Japan space at 1221 N. Rock Road.

Zhao “Jason” Wang, who also has China Wok Buffet in Winfield, is opening the restaurant on July 1. It will have a hibachi grill, sushi and a full bar.

– Finally, Il Ponte has closed.

The restaurant opened in the former Le Monde Cafe space at 3101 N. Rock Road in late 2010.

The restaurant’s partners couldn’t be reached for comment.

There’s no new tenant for the building yet, but there are already some people eyeing the space.

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.

“We’re still interested, but you know, we have to wait for the right location,” he says.

He’s looking at other plans elsewhere as well and says he’ll keep the public posted.

Stephan, who has a number of revolving business interests in Old Town, has taken a step back at Revolution Rock Bar.

“I was more interested in the kitchen part of it,” he says of the one-time Whiskey Creek space. He’s still using the kitchen for his catering and other businesses, but Finns Lounge owner Greg Finley is now running the bar.

Stephan says Finley is running the business for him until he can get his own liquor license and make changes, which could include a new concept.

Then, Stephan says, “that’s his — whatever he wants to do with it.”

— 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

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.

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.

“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.”

Febres says it’s currently hard to find Taste & See at Office This.

“We’re hiding in the mall,” he says.

“We’re ready to be exposed. . . . “I’m ready to bring out my full potential. I’m excited to be able to play.”

Bree Kelley with J.P. Weigand & Sons handled the deal.

Burk is planning to have five businesses in 25,000 square feet at the Mosley address.

There will be about 21,000 square feet of leasable space, and the rest will be common areas.

“That could change,” Burk says.

Two of the businesses will have entries off the east side on Washington, including Taste & See. It’s in the northeast part of the building at Second and Washington.

Burk says Febres and his restaurant will be draws for the area.

“Anyone who’s eaten at Taste & See really knows the quality of the food he produces.”

The new Taste & See won’t open until about October, but Febres is already thinking ahead to a restaurant in Kansas City next, then maybe Dallas. He says he won’t stop until he has several nationally.

“It’s our ultimate goal.”