Cinnamon’s Deli to open Thursday near west-side Lowe’s

Feb. 10, 20104:54 p.m.

WICHITA — Five Guys Burgers and Fries and Long John Silver’s Freshside Grille are getting lots of attention for opening next week in front of Lowe’s near 29th Street North and Maize Road.

But that doesn’t bother Cinnamon’s Deli owner Larry Wilson, who is opening in the same building Thursday.

“I’m going to beat ’em,” Wilson says.

This is his fourth Cinnamon’s in Wichita.

“I like the traffic count,” Wilson says of the area.

There may be a lot of other restaurants there, he says, but “there’s a lot of customers also.”

Landmark Commercial Real Estate handled the lease.

Wilson, who opened his first Cinnamon’s in 1986, hopes to open two more here and possibly one in Derby. Don’t look for the new restaurants anytime soon, though.

With a tight market for financing, Wilson says, “I’m going to have to pull back . . . for a little while.”

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , , Filed under Real estate, Restaurants, West side | Comments

Long John Silver’s Freshside Grille to open Feb. 15 with Five Guys Burgers and Fries

Feb. 3, 20106:04 a.m.

WICHITA — No one planned it this way, but it turns out Long John Silver’s Freshside Grille is going to open Feb. 15, which is the same day Five Guys Burgers and Fries is planning to open.

The restaurants are in a new center in front of Lowe’s near 29th and Maize.

Long John franchisee Eric Estes says the goal was to get open by Ash Wednesday, which is the 17th, because a lot of customers on the west side said they’d like another option for fish.

He says the new Long John’s will be a more upscale version of the restaurant, with cherry wood furniture and digital menus.

“It’s very upscale compared to anything else we have.”

Ink Construction built Long John Silver’s and Five Guys.

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By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , Filed under Restaurants, West side | Comments

Five Guys Burgers and Fries to open Feb. 15

Jan. 27, 201011:03 a.m.

WICHITA — The much-anticipated Five Guys Burgers and Fries now has a firm opening date.

The restaurant, which will be in the retail center in front of Lowe’s near 29th and Maize, will open Feb. 15.

The restaurant will begin hiring at 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday at the Courtyard by Marriott in Old Town.

Franchisee Jeff Miller says he plans on hiring 40 to 50 people. Starting wages are $7.75, but employees have an opportunity for potentially substantial weekly bonuses.

Five Guys hires a third party to visit its restaurants twice weekly. Employees working that shift have an opportunity to share about $1,300 a week if they perform well.

In the fourth quarter of last year, Five Guys paid almost $3.5 million in bonuses to its hourly workers at 500 restaurants.

“That’s a lot of money,” Miller says.

He’s now negotiating for space on the east side as well.

“We would love to have a store open by Aug. 1, and if we can beat that date, we’re definitely going to try.”

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , Filed under Leases, Real estate, Restaurants | Comments

Panda Express to open several Wichita sites, including a possible two this year

Jan. 22, 20103:05 p.m.

WICHITA — Panda Express now confirms what Have You Heard? first reported was a possibility in September.

The national chain is making its first foray into the Wichita market with four to six restaurants in the next two to three years.

“We’d love to open our first one this year — two if we can,” says Susan Flesher, the chain’s senior regional real estate manager.

The company, based in Rosemead, Calif., has 1,300 sites serving Chinese food in a fast-casual style nationally.

Flesher compares Panda Express’ format to Chipotle, where diners first select a starch — steamed or fried rice or chow mein — and vegetables followed by two to three entrees.

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

Wichita Health and Wellness to open at Chadsworth Plaza

Jan. 7, 20103:34 p.m.

WICHITA — Chiropractor Jeff Fenn is opening Wichita Health and Wellness at Chadsworth Plaza next to Lowe’s near 21st and Maize.

“My new clinic’s going to focus on . . . more of a wellness approach,” Fenn says.

He’ll have a physical therapist and nutritionist at the 2,000-square-foot office, and he’ll offer things like spinal decompression, weight loss guidance and arthritis treatments.

Fenn likes the area for “the vibe, the busyness.”

The office will open in late February.

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , Filed under Healthcare, Leases, Real estate, West side | Comments Off

Cinnamon’s Deli to join Five Guys and Long John Silver’s near northwest Lowe’s

Oct. 29, 20096:32 a.m.

WICHITA — A third restaurant is joining Five Guys Burgers and Fries and Long John Silver’s Freshside Grille in front of Lowe’s near 29th and Maize.

Cinnamon’s Deli will open in 2,400 square feet next to Five Guys, which will anchor the south end of the strip center there.

Long John Silver’s anchors the north end.

Central Park Place Retail is developing the 8,960-square-foot center.

Brad Saville of Landmark Commercial Real Estate and Christian Ablah of Classic Real Estate are principals in Central Park. Cook Construction is the builder.

They broke ground on the project Wednesday.

At a time that not many strip centers are under construction — and many are sitting empty — Ablah thinks “the exciting tenants that we have with this kind of location” is why he and Saville are able to proceed with theirs.

The center is 81 percent leased. There’s 1,680 square feet left to lease, and Ablah and Saville are open to either a restaurant or retail.

Look for the new restaurants to open in early 2010.

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , , , , , Filed under Leases, Real estate, Restaurants | Comments

Five Guys coming to Wichita with several restaurants

Sept. 22, 20094:01 p.m.

fiveguysWICHITA — Wichita’s already impressive array of hamburger places, including national franchises and mom-and-pop shops, is about to get what many will consider an exciting addition.

Five Guys Burgers and Fries is coming to the market with several locations.

There are almost 500 of the restaurants nationally.

“Toward the end of last year, they just exploded,” says Jeff Miller, who has the franchise rights to this area with his brother, Jay, and Jay Brehmer of Overland Park.

The Millers grew up in the Kansas City area.

Jay Miller then spent time in Philadelphia and, when he left the city, terribly missed Five Guys.

“That’s how we got turned on to it,” Jeff Miller says.

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By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , Filed under Leases, Real estate, Restaurants | Comments

Pho Hot Bistro owner to expand west, south

Sept. 1, 200911:15 a.m.

WICHITA — His newest restaurant is less than two weeks old, but Danny Nguyen is already at work on his next two concepts.

Nguyen opened Pho Hot Bistro in the former Amarillo Grill space at 306 N. Rock Road on Aug. 21.

It’s a more upscale version of his Pho Hot near Pawnee and the Canal Route.

Now, he’s looking to do a west-side Pho Hot Bistro by the Lowe’s near 29th and Maize.

Nguyen doesn’t have a deal yet but hopes to soon.

He’s also working on an express location for Derby near the Target in the Derby Marketplace at 71st South and Rock Road.

“It’s kind of like Chipotle style,” Nguyen says of his concept.

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By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , , , Filed under Derby, Restaurants, West side | Comments

A&W drive-ins are still coming to Wichita; so is a Long John Silver’s Freshside Grille

July 13, 200911:20 a.m.

mugWICHITA — Readers have been wondering if an A&W drive-in is really coming to Wichita.

Last August, Have You Heard? reported that former Sonic franchisee Eric Estes would bring back the A&W concept, which has been out of the market for decades.

He didn’t open the restaurants here this year as he originally thought he would — he went to Garden City instead — but Estes is still planning on it.

“Oh, yeah,” he says. “We’re absolutely doing it.”

He plans to break ground this year and open late next winter or early spring.

The only question is where.

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

New retail center to open by Lowe’s at Maple and Ridge

May 12, 20093:26 p.m.

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Developer Leisa Lowry, who is also a commercial broker for J.P. Weigand & Sons, is close to building on the southeast corner of University and Ridge across from Lowe’s.

“I have been pursuing this for a while because it’s a great intersection with very high traffic,” Lowry says.

In addition to access to Kellogg and traffic on Maple and Ridge, nearby Taft is extremely busy as well thanks to the strip of shopping by Sam’s Club and other businesses in Westgate Market.

“A lot of the residential people on the west side take that to go to those retailers,” Lowry says.

She initially plans a 12,000-square-foot center for retail and restaurant space. But she says she’s open to doing pad sites instead if that’s what someone would prefer.

“I just started marketing it and have seen a lot of interest,” Lowry says. “I will start building in the next few months.”

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