Beau Monde Spa and Boutique to expand at Comotara Center

April 27, 20125:00 a.m.

WICHITA — Michele Wheeler began contemplating expanding her Beau Monde Spa and Boutique at Comotara Center more than a year ago.

With the entry of six new national competitors in the market, though, she figured she better wait before she made the investment.

She’s not waiting anymore.

“I just decided that it was the right time,” Wheeler says.

She’s adding 2,000 more square feet to her almost 6,000-square-foot space at the center at 29th and Rock Road. That’s where Eccentricity was before moving to part of the former Olive Tree Bistro space.

“I knew we had a great clientele,” Wheeler says.

Still, it was daunting when a new Sephora opened at Bradley Fair and two more opened within JC Penney stores. There also are two new Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance stores, which are at NewMarket Square and Eastgate Plaza, and a Bare Escentuals at Towne East Square.

“I had to wait kind of wait and see what was going to happen,” Wheeler says. “We just had to stay true to our game and let everybody go check it out.”

She thinks Beau Monde has continued to do well in part because customers have “gotten behind that ‘shop local.’”

Also, she says, “It’s a little more personal attention when you come in here.”

In addition to the spa, Beau Monde offers makeup and skincare products.

Wheeler was prompted to finally take the extra space for a couple of reasons.

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By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Filed under East side, Real estate, Retail | Comments (0)

Juni’s Cafe to open at Comotara Center

Jan. 24, 20125:52 a.m.

WICHITA — Once stay-at-home mom Jeniffer Kang realized she can’t follow her daughter, Esther Cho, to college this fall as she would like, she decided she needed to find something new to do.

“I don’t know how I’m going to survive without her,” Kang says. “I need some kind of life.”

So she’s opening Juni’s Cafe, a Korean restaurant in 1,100 square feet next to Tan Lines at Comotara Center near 29th and Rock Road.

Kang is naming the restaurant after her only other child, Wonjoon Cho, who is 12.

The restaurant will seat only 20, but that works with Kang’s concept.

“I want people to think about (it) as a home,” she says.

Kang, who is a South Korea native, will serve traditional Korean cuisine.

“It’s not the fusion, like adapting to Americans,” she says.

Kang says a lot of the food is on the healthy side and is made with very little oil. She hopes that appeals to diners as well.

Kerry Dunn of Re/Max Superior Realtors and Debbie McNeal of RP Realty Partners handled the lease for the restaurant.

Juni’s will serve lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday, and Kang says she’s open to hosting private parties on Sundays as well.

Look for Juni’s to open in early April.

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

Caterer and restaurateur Ben Arnold adds another cafe to his menu

Nov. 23, 20116:42 a.m.

WICHITA — Apparently a catering business, five hotel and military base banquet operations, two cafes and a restaurant aren’t quite enough to keep Ben Arnold busy.

So, as of Monday, he’s adding another cafe to the lineup.

Arnold will now operate Intrust Cafe at the Intrust Bank building downtown. It’s a private cafe that mostly serves bank employees along with some tenants in the building.

The approximately 3,000-square-foot cafe is a bit bigger than Cafe 151, which Arnold runs at the Cargill building downtown. That’s open to the public, as is Cafe Comotara, which Arnold has at Comotara Center at 29th and Rock Road.

“I won’t put any kids through college with the money I make off of these cafes,” he says. “It’s all about the partnership of just two great organizations that are based here in Wichita.”

There are many more partnership opportunities he receives, Arnold says.

“I get approached constantly.”

Arnold says he tries to be strategic about which deals he accepts. He thinks the Intrust Bank connection potentially can lead to more catering for his Corporate Caterers of Wichita.

Isn’t it all a bit much, especially since his new A.V.I. Seabar & Chophouse at the Drury Plaza Broadview just opened Monday?

“No, not at all,” Arnold says. “You surround yourself with great people, and you can do anything.”

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , , , , , Filed under Restaurants | Comments Off

Eccentricity to move this week and change names to Sister Moses

May 31, 20115:34 a.m.

WICHITA — More than a year ago, Eccentricity owner Linda Burton planned to move within Comotara Center at 29th and Rock Road to the former Olive Tree Bistro space.

Thursday, she’s finally doing it.

“It’s been a long process, but we’re here,” she says.

Along with the expansion into 3,800 square feet, Burton is changing the name of the eclectic shop — it sells women’s clothing, home furnishings and bath products — to Sister Moses.

That’s also the name of a new line of clothing she’s created.

“We’re going to have it exclusively for this store right now,” Burton says.

Her plan is to eventually sell it at other shops as well.

Burton chose the Sister Moses name for a couple of reasons.

First, she calls just about everyone who walks in her shop “sister.”

“I’m always like, ‘Hey, sister, how ya doin’?’ ”

Burton also identifies with Moses, as in the Ten Commandments Moses.

“He was a numbers man. Think about it,” she says. “That would be me.”

Eccentricity also was a tricky name for people, Burton says.

“It was a big mouthful to say. No one ever pronounced it right.”

Burton has changed the name of her shop once before. When she opened 20 years ago, she called it Cricket & Co.

She’s not afraid to change the name again.

“Everybody asks me that,” Burton says.

She’s just thrilled to be in her new space, regardless of the name.

“It’s good. It’s all good.”

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , Filed under Comotara Center, East side, Retail | Comments Off

Karma closes at Comotara Center

May 2, 20115:14 p.m.

WICHITA — Another east-side business has closed.

Karma, a wellness studio that opened last fall at Comotara Center at 29th and Rock Road, is no longer in business.

Rebecca Lee opened her studio in 3,600 square feet of the former Chelsea’s Bar and Grill.

She won’t discuss why she’s closed.

“We’re doing it, and that’s all there really is to say about it,” Lee says. “I don’t really feel like talking about it.”

She referred questions to her lawyer, who didn’t return a call for comment.

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , Filed under Closings, Comotara Center, East side | Comments Off

Five Guys Burgers and Fries is coming downtown to Douglas and Ida

Feb. 24, 20114:31 p.m.

UPDATED — There’s a lot of downtown news this week with more approvals coming on the area’s master plan.

What might bring a little more immediate excitement is Five Guys Burgers and Fries‘ confirmation that it has a deal to open Sept. 1 at the southwest corner of Douglas and Ida.

Have You Heard? first reported that was a possibility in August.

Five Guys franchisee Jeff Miller says he’ll locate on Douglas across from the Anchor, which is on the southeast corner of that intersection, though the city’s Historic Preservation Board still needs to approve the restaurant’s design.

“We’re pretty confident that they’ll be real happy with what we’re bringing to them,” Miller says. “We don’t anticipate any problems there.”

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By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , Filed under Comotara Center, Downtown, Leases, Real estate, Restaurants | Comments Off

New Rylee & Reece owners are moving the shop to NewMarket Square

Feb. 4, 20115:00 a.m.

WICHITA — Tiffany Garner has shopped at the Rylee & Reece children’s boutique at Comotara Center at least once a season since it opened 3 1/2 years ago.

“It’s just the best store,” she says. “It’s just got great kids clothes, very unique things you can’t find at other places.”

So when she heard it was closing, she acted fast.

“A month and a half later, here we are,” says Garner, who bought the business with her mother, Lynette.

Krista Hunt and her mother, Phyllis Rose, opened Rylee & Reece and named it after Hunt’s children.

They’re now 5 and 4.

“I’m home with my little ones quite a bit,” Hunt says.

That means Rose has been at the store quite a bit, but she’s ready to retire and spend more time with her grandkids, which is why they’re selling.

The Garners are moving the business from Comotara at 29th and Rock Road to NewMarket Square at 21st and Maize.

April Reed of Slawson Cos. handled the deal for the 2,000-square-foot space. It’s where Wells Fargo was previously.

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By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , , , , Filed under East side, Retail, West side | Comments Off

Ben Arnold of Corporate Caterers of Wichita may take over Cargill restaurant space

Aug. 20, 20105:05 p.m.

WICHITA — It’s really hard to believe, but Ben Arnold may be taking on another venture.

The owner of Corporate Caterers of Wichita has taken on a lot in the last year, such as expanding the space at his Douglas and West headquarters, leasing a large, new space at Comotara Center and signing a deal with the Broadview Hotel.

Now, Arnold may be Cargill’s top choice to take over the restaurant space at the company’s Wichita headquarters at 151 N. Main.

“I am very interested in the space, and would love the opportunity,” Arnold says.

“I have not signed a contract on the space, so to confirm this information would be premature.”

Piccadilly Express had been operating at the building for 13 years but last month was told it didn’t make the cut in Cargill’s decision about future food services.

The restaurant closed immediately.

Look for news on Arnold’s possible deal soon.

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , Filed under Downtown, Restaurants | Comments (2)

Five Guys Burgers and Fries chooses Comotara Center for its next site

Aug. 13, 201011:10 a.m.

WICHITA — Five Guys Burgers and Fries franchisee Jeff Miller confirms what we suspected about his next site.

“You were right about Comotara,” he says of the shopping center near 29th and Rock.

“We are going to be in the Material Comforts location.”

That store already has closed.

Miller signed the new lease today and expects to be open by November.

The space is 4,800 square feet. About 3,500 of that will be for the restaurant, which is substantially bigger than the 2,300 square feet Five Guys has on the west side in front of Lowe’s near 29th and Maize.

“When it’s busy, we’re very crowded, and we’d like to have a little more space for our guests,” Miller says.

“We feel like we’ve been so well received in town, we’d just like a little bigger space.”

The rest of the building will be used to train employees in the market.

Miller also is eyeing several downtown sites.

“We haven’t committed to anything,” he says.

He is shopping, though.

“We’ll have several more in the area.”

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , Filed under Comotara Center, East side, Real estate, Restaurants | Comments (9)

Five Guys Burgers and Fries is days away from signing for east-side space

Aug. 5, 20105:55 a.m.

WICHITA — Next to repeated Chick-fil-A questions — when’s it coming? where? — the next fast food restaurant we hear the most questions about is Five Guys Burgers and Fries.

When is the chain going to add an east-side Wichita location?

Answer: soon.

Franchisee Jeff Miller says he’s just this close to signing a lease.

The Five Guys in front of Lowe’s near 29th North and Maize opened in February.

Sources have reported several east-side sites Miller has eyed.

He reportedly looked at reconfiguring part of the former Ethan Allen space near Central and Rock, but that’s where Mattress Hub is now going.

Comotara Center at 29th North and Rock Road is another reported possibility.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Miller has focused on Rock Road.

So where’s the final spot?

Miller will tell us within days.

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , , Filed under Comotara Center, Real estate, Restaurants | Comments (43)