Birds on the Roof Bakery & Cafe to open in center at Central and Rock in March

Dec. 13, 20123:44 p.m.

WICHITA — Thao Luu couldn’t find the job she was hoping for when she graduated with a hospitality management degree from Butler Community College and was beginning to despair when she passed a sign at Fidelity Bank.

“Wichitans don’t hope for a better future. We build it.”

The sign inspired Luu to start her own business and hire her former professor, Roger Bosserman, to help.

Luu is opening Birds on the Roof Bakery & Cafe in the former Verde Sustainable Living space in the center at the northeast corner of Central and Rock.

Though Luu is Vietnamese — she moved here three years ago to marry chemical engineer Jimmy Nguyen — she will offer mostly American dishes for breakfast and lunch. That includes paninis, sandwiches, pizza, hamburgers and salad. There will be a French flair with some dishes, such as crepes and savory pastries.

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By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , Filed under East side, New business, Real estate, Restaurants | Comments Off

You don’t say

Oct. 26, 20124:07 p.m.

“When you handed that to me, I just froze with fear.”

– Jeff Turner’s comment to Gov. Sam Brownback when accepting Butler Community College’s Corporate Diversity Award for Spirit AeroSystems Friday. The award was handmade Karg Art Glass, and Turner explained he once accidentally knocked over and shattered a large piece of glass at Karg’s Kechi gallery.

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You don’t say

Oct. 11, 201210:40 a.m.

“I am an opportunity magnet, just waiting for opportunities to find a girl with a tattoo.”

– Retiring Butler Community College president Jackie Vietti, who this summer got a magnolia tattoo while visiting Sturgis, S.D.

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You don’t say

Sept. 18, 20125:09 p.m.

“Keep sawing.”

– Butler Community College president Jackie Vietti to Wichita City Council member Lavonta Williams as they struggled to use a serrated knife to cut the grand opening ribbon for the school’s new Hospitality and Culinary Arts Center

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Assistance League of Wichita to reopen resale shop in new space Tuesday

March 26, 201211:10 a.m.

Steven Hernandez, with Bauer and Son Construction, puts the finishing coat of paint on the door at 2431 E. Douglas, the new home of the Assistance League shop.

WICHITA — Almost a decade after starting a search for a new building, the Assistance League of Wichita is opening in new space Tuesday.

“It is looking so great,” says the League’s Helene Longhofer of the new building at 2431 E. Douglas, just down from Douglas and Grove. She says the shop “has a real boutique look.”

The building, which the Assistance League owns, used to be home to Paradise Antiques. The Assistance League used to be in rented space down the street at 2611 E. Douglas.

As Have You Heard? reported in October, the new space’s 6,000 square feet is more than double the size of the old store.

The resale shop sells an array of things including clothing, jewelry and household items.

The 28-year-old League is a chapter of the nonprofit national Assistance League. The local League provides assistance to Wichitans with programs such as Operation School Bell, which provides children with new clothes for school. The League also gives scholarships to the Wichita Area Technical College and Butler Community College.

The resale shop, which is run by volunteers, raises money for the League’s projects.

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You don’t say

March 5, 20123:20 p.m.

“I told them I’d do it a second time and pocket the cash.”

– Freddy’s co-owner Scott Redler, joking about his offer of dinner for eight that raised $3,750 at the Butler Community College auction Friday (which raised more than $165,000)

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You don’t say

Jan. 4, 20125:12 p.m.

“That said I would like to take this opportunity to point out that Butler was first in bestowing such an honor on you, so am wondering a bit which is the more insightful of the two institutions.”

– Butler Community College president Jackie Vietti in a teasing note to Ford CEO Alan Mulally congratulating him on receiving an honorary doctorate from the University of Kansas

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Assistance League of Wichita buys former Paradise Antiques space for its thrift store

Oct. 19, 20116:00 a.m.

WICHITA — After looking for new space for the better part of a decade, the Assistance League of Wichita has found it.

The League is more than doubling its resale shop space by moving to 6,000 square feet near Douglas and Grove where Paradise Antiques used to be.

“We have been in our rented building right next to Moler’s Camera shop for 21 years,” says the League’s Helene Longhofer.

That’s at 2611 E. Douglas, just down from where the new shop will be.

The upside of taking so long to find new space is that the League has been able to save to buy the building.

“We’re hoping we can get it paid for in three years,” Longhofer says.

The 28-year-old League is a chapter of the nonprofit national Assistance League.

The local League provides assistance to Wichitans with programs such as Operation School Bell, which provides children with new clothes for school. In the past two years, the program has supplied clothing to more than 4,000 students each year.

The League also gives scholarships to the Wichita Area Technical College and Butler Community College.

The resale shop raises money for the League’s projects.

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You don’t say

July 26, 20113:11 p.m.

“I went to Sue Castile’s funeral and listening to her life story provided me more motivation than anything I probably would have heard at the conference anyway.”

– A Facebook post by Butler Community College’s Cindy Miles, who had numerous problems trying to get in to the Get Motivated Business Seminar but found plenty of inspiration at the memorial service for the late executive director of Inter-Faith Ministries

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Butler Community College raises an accident-free $140,000

March 7, 20114:35 p.m.

Butler Community College raised a record $140,000 at its annual foundation auction Friday.

Almost as importantly, there were no scooter accidents.

Butler president Jackie Vietti rode a Piaggio scooter onto the stage before it went up for bid.

It had foundation executive director Keri Myers a little concerned.

“We were intensely hoping that she wouldn’t get the throttle and brakes interchanged and crash through the head table.”

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