Dudley’s Sports Bar and Grill opens today

Aug. 24, 20094:16 p.m.

WICHITA — The new Dudley’s Sports Bar and Grill opens today at 5 p.m. in the former El Gaucho Steakhouse space near 21st and Tyler.

Mulligan’s Pub and O’Brien’s Irish Pub owners Charlie Badeen and David Allan are opening the new business, which will be similar to Mulligan’s and O’Brien’s.

Starting Tuesday, hours will be 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily.

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West-side O’Brien’s to open under a new name

June 17, 20097:00 a.m.

WICHITA — A new bar and restaurant is coming to the west side where El Gaucho Steakhouse used to be near 21st and Tyler.

It’ll be called either Dudley’s Sports Bar and Grill or Dudlee’s Sports Bar and Grill.

“We don’t know which way it’s going to be, so take your pick,” says Charlie Badeen, who is opening the business with David Allan.

The two also own Mulligan’s Pub on North Rock and O’Brien’s Irish Pub near Scotch & Sirloin on East Kellogg.

“It’s almost identical to O’Brien’s,” Badeen says of the new place.

There will be a bar, lots of high-top tables and other seating, three pool tables, electronic games, dart boards and 15 plasma TVs in the 4,500-square-foot space.

“We’re going to push the NFL package out there,” Badeen says.

They’ll also offer hamburgers, which is a first for them, and fresh French fries, onion rings and deep fried green beans along with other traditional bar fare.

There are several reasons Badeen and Allan like the new location.

First, Badeen says, they don’t have to spend much to open since a restaurant had been in the space (El Gaucho closed earlier this year after continuing to struggle financially since filing Chapter 13 bankruptcy last fall).

Also, they think the area is easy to get in and out of.

“We looked at 21st and Maize Road, and we just thought that was way too congested out there,” Badeen says.

The fate of the life-size horse sculpture outside the entrance is up in the air. Badeen hopes he can keep it and hang a Dudley’s/Dudlee’s sign on it. He expects to know soon.

“I’ll tell you a week from Friday.”

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Charlie Badeen eyes the west side

April 29, 20098:45 a.m.

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Restaurateur and bar owner Charlie Badeen is looking for space on the west side for a new concept similar to his Mulligan’s Pub on the east side and O’Brien’s Irish Pub near Scotch & Sirloin.

“I think we’ll stay with the Irish theme,” Badeen says. “It seems to work.”

Badeen used to have a Mulligan’s, which is known for its pizza, on the west side at 1335 N. Tyler where Los Cocos Mexican Restaurant is today.

“It did really well,” he says.

Badeen closed only when someone — not anyone with Los Cocos — offered him twice what he had invested in the space.

Along with some of the fare he offers at Mulligan’s and O’Brien’s, Badeen says he’d like to add hamburgers, which he doesn’t offer at the other venues because he doesn’t have the right hoods for cooking them.

Badeen isn’t looking for a huge amount of space.

“Small bars work,” he says.

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Suede opening not so smooth

April 15, 200911:24 a.m.

The new Suede lounge in Old Town is having some issues, but owner Charlie Badeen says it will remain open.

“We’re going to probably give it another 90 days and see what happens,” he says.

It looks like Ed Banda was briefly out as manager.

“I yell and scream a lot, let’s put it like that,” Badeen says.

But he says he’s giving Banda and the bar another chance.

“We’ve gone in there and tried to get him straightened out,” Badeen says. “He’s making a very good effort.”

Badeen says weekday business is the problem.

“It does real good two nights a week,” Badeen says of Fridays and Saturdays. “Other than that, you can’t get a soul in there.”

Badeen says this may have been the wrong time to open a new bar, and Suede’s piano-bar approach may not be the right concept.

“If the piano bar doesn’t work,” he says, “we may change the concept.”

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