Urban Oasis Yoga Studio to open in Delano

Dec. 27, 20124:30 p.m.

WICHITA — A new yoga studio is going in the former Siva Power Yoga space at 535 W. Douglas in Delano.

Lori Morton is opening Urban Oasis Yoga Studio in 2,326 square feet on Jan. 1.

“We’re doing our first class at four o’clock,” Morton says.

It’ll be free to introduce people to the studio.

Morton says she’s made a number of changes to the space, such as adding mirrors.

Stephanie Wiens and Shannon Palmer of Occidental Management handled the deal for the space.

In addition to the studio space, Morton says there will be a relaxation area with spa water, a boutique and “some different, fun things.”

She plans on offering a variety of yoga classes, such as hot yoga, a dance fusion class, yoga for beginners and praise and worship yoga classes during which she says she’ll take donations for World Impact.

Morton also will offer stand-up paddle yoga at the Wichita Swim Club in the winter and various lakes and other water in the summer.

“I’m just hoping that people will be able to find a class that serves them well.”

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , , , , Filed under Delano, Health clubs, New business, Real estate | Comments Off

InSite Real Estate Group leads partership that buys Jim’s Builders Hardware building

Dec. 4, 20125:00 a.m.

WICHITA — A partnership led by Delano inhabitant InSite Real Estate Group has purchased the former Jim’s Builders Hardware building at 567 W. Douglas.

That’s just around the clock tower from where the company’s office is at 608 W.  Douglas.

Jim’s closed about a month ago after more than three decades in business.

“Obviously, we were disappointed to see such a … longstanding business in Delano close their doors,” says InSite broker Carl Hebert.

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By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , Filed under Delano, Real estate | Comments Off

Dent Busters consolidates into one space

Nov. 19, 201211:02 a.m.

WICHITA — Tracy Marsh is in the process of consolidating his two Dent Busters shops.

He’s already moved his paintless dent repair and automotive detail business from 149 N. Osage in Delano to the former Ray Party Rental space at 406 S. Market.

By the end of the month, he plans to move his body shop business from 423 S. St. Francis to the new space.

“We just needed to be together,” Marsh says. “It’ll speed up production. It’ll give us room to grow.”

The space is 24,000 square feet, including 12,000 square feet in a drive-in basement.

“We’re leasing right now,” Marsh says. “We needed to see how the building would work for us.”

He says he’s looked for new space for four years.

“Buildings that we can utilize are kind of hard to find.”

In addition to having a big enough space and one that can fit automotive needs, Marsh says he particularly wanted something with good drive-by traffic. He says most shops and buildings he found were in industrial areas.

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You don’t say

Nov. 16, 201212:48 p.m.

“I guess when you try to put a business together this quickly, and you’re a girl, you have the choice to change your mind.”

– Jennifer Ray, who has decided to rename her new Delano bar, which opens Dec. 7, the Monarch after one of Wichita’s first saloons from the 1890s

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , Filed under Bars, Delano, Restaurants, You don't say | Comments Off

You don’t say

Oct. 30, 20122:34 p.m.

“It’s not our total desire, but you know, you gotta do what you gotta do.”

– Rev. Fred Hayes, whose New Life Church in Delano is selling contents of the church Oct. 31 through Nov. 2 to raise money to stay in its building at 411 S. Martinson

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Jim’s Builders Hardware in Delano closes

Oct. 29, 201210:46 a.m.

WICHITA — After more than three decades in business, Jim’s Builders Hardware in Delano is closing.

“We’re just closing because of the economy,” owner Jeanne McKiernan says. “It’s really a melancholy situation. We didn’t want to close.”

McKiernan’s late husband, Jim, and a business partner started the company in Kechi in 1979. The store then moved to Delano and has been at a couple of different addresses. It’s been at 567 W. Douglas since 1987.

“This business was built around builders building homes,” McKiernan says. “Builders stopped building homes, so consequently that had a big impact on this business.

“That’s the whole thing.”

Though McKiernan says she’s in business until Oct. 31, the store already is closed to the public. Mainly, she’s now packing boxes.

McCurdy Auction will auction the property and its contents on Nov. 28.

The 5,000-square-foot building was built in 1907.

The construction market has been down for years, but McKiernan says she tried to hold out as long as she could. Finally, she decided she had to close.

“When your business isn’t making money anymore, that’s the clue.”

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Firefly Yoga Studio owner Nickki Head to open west-side studio

Oct. 26, 20125:00 a.m.

WICHITA — A year and a half after opening Firefly Yoga Studio in the Shops at Tallgrass at 21st and Rock Road, Nickki Head is preparing to open a second studio on the west side.

“We just got such an enormous amount of requests for a west-side location,” Head says. “You know Wichita. It’s so east side and west side.”

Firefly Yoga Studio West will be in 1,200 square feet at 2313 Zoo Park Blvd., which is across from the entrance to the Sedgwick County Zoo.

“We’re kind of marketing it as, like, simple space, no distraction,” Head says.

The first class will be Dec. 1.

Head says her initial plan was to start small with one location and see how people liked the yoga she offers.

“It’s blown up. People are loving it and loving the benefits of it.”

So what’s next? Downtown? Delano?

“Stay tuned,” Head says. “That’s every owner’s dream to try to be in each little nugget of the Wichita community.”

She appreciates that there’s interest.

“I’m lucky enough that the Wichita community has supported us this far … that a second studio is even an opportunity,” Head says. “Best-case scenario is what’s happening here. Dreams come true.”

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , Filed under East side, Health clubs, New business, Shops at Tallgrass, West side | Comments Off

New Life Church attempts to restore Trinity Methodist Church, may need to move

Oct. 25, 20123:53 p.m.

WICHITA — In 2010, a group of developers announced plans to convert the historic Trinity Methodist Church in Delano into apartments.

That never happened.

New Life Church has been meeting at the building, which is at 411 S. Martinson, and pastor Fred Hayes wants to make sure it remains a church.

“We’ve been striving to refurbish and bring it back to its former glory,” Hayes says. “We’ve been laboring trying to get it back up to par.”

Hayes says if his church can’t make it there, the building could become something else. He calls it “a very real reality.”

He says the apartments didn’t happen because the developers couldn’t get the historic designation they needed for tax credits to rehabilitate the building.

“That’s why they didn’t pursue it.”

The building was built in 1906 and at one time was one of the biggest churches in the city. Until recently, its address was 1409 W. Maple, but that changed due to some additions to the building.

Hayes says there are some immediate concerns with the property, such as fixing the heating and roof.

“It’s just a lot of work that needs to be done,” he says.

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Michelle Borin sells Garage Bar & Grill; Jennifer Ray to open Circle Social Club

Oct. 22, 20125:00 a.m.

WICHITA — Michelle Borin soon will be back to running just her Michelle’s Beach House. She and her son, Brandon, have sold the Garage Bar & Grill in Delano to Jennifer Ray.

“Things have just kind of changed,” Michelle Borin says. Her son is now focusing more on the aerospace industry, she says.

“I don’t want to run it by myself and take 100 percent responsibility between this place and the Beach House.”

Ray has been running Emerson Biggin’s and Rock Island Live in Old Town. She’s worked at Emerson Biggin’s for more than a decade.

“It was just a natural progression of things,” Ray says of starting her own business.

The new bar will be called the Circle Social Club after the traffic circle in front of the business, which is at 579 W. Douglas.

“I have always been interested in that property,” Ray says. “I live in Delano, so it’s a perfect fit.”

She plans to remodel.

“It’s just going to be a lot of cosmetic changes.”

Ray plans to change not just the look but the feel of the business.

“It would be great to have a concept in there that really fits the neighborhood. Something that caters to the eclectic tastes of people who live in Delano,” she says. “We’re thinking something laid back. Very, very quality food, good service … a very nice beer selection.”

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

Art Market at Bluebird Arthouse to open Oct. 20 in Delano

Oct. 12, 20123:24 p.m.

WICHITA — Since opening her Bluebird Arthouse in Delano a year ago, Emily Brookover hasn’t used the extra 6,000 square feet on the shop’s second floor.

“We just didn’t know what to do with it,” she says.

A visit to the Art and Book Fair at Century II earlier this year gave her an idea, though.

“I was like, I could do this on a miniature scale.”

Starting Oct. 20, Brookover plans to devote the second floor of 924 W. Douglas to the Art Market at Bluebird Arthouse every third Saturday of the month.

Brookover already has about a dozen booths rented to sell art, handbags, pottery and skincare products.

“We have all sorts of people,” she says. “I’m looking to do really a wide variety of artists and artisans.”

If the concept is successful, Brookover says she’ll expand it to other days.

“That’s sort of the idea if it goes well.”

She notes that the upstairs is not handicap accessible.

Interested vendors can contact Brookover at Bluebird Arthouse. Spaces will rent for $30 or $45 for a larger area.

Brookover thinks the idea will work, especially for artists who may not have venues to show their work.

As she says in a press release about it, “It’s like a Farmer’s Market, only better.”

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