Mediterraneo closes, Groves Retail Liquor prepares to use the space

April 20, 20105:28 p.m.

WICHITA — Seven months after opening, Mediterraneo has closed.

“This location’s tough,” says Zak Tazkargy, who owned the business at Kellogg and Webb with Moe Hlayhel.

Italian Garden was in the space before that.

Tazkargy says construction in the area made it too hard to attract customers.

“We had people calling saying, ‘We can’t get into your building,’ ” he says.

Hlayhel is heading overseas for a job, but Tazkargy says he may have another restaurant by fall.

“If we find a good location, you know we may reopen.”

Ron Groves of Groves Retail Liquor, which is just down Kellogg from Mediterraneo, has purchased the restaurant’s fixtures.

He wants to use the 5,000-square-foot building for more storage and for an occasional wine tasting. Groves is working with the state to get approval to rent the space for tastings.

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

Mediterraneo is now open on the east side, and the combination Schlotzsky’s and Cinnabon opens Monday out west

Sept. 11, 20095:06 p.m.

WICHITA — If you’re hungry for something new to eat, you’ll have a couple of new dining options from which to choose in the next several days.

Moe Hlayhel has opened his new Mediterraneo in the former Italian Garden space at Kellogg and Webb.

“Basically, we took some dishes from all the Mediterranean countries that border the Mediterranean sea,” Hlayhel says.

He says that includes dishes like paella from Spain, shish-k-bobs from Turkey and Lebanon’s famous humus with lamb.

On the west side, customers have already been stopping by the new Schlotzsky’s at Central and Tyler in hopes that it’s open.

But Ken Mechtley’s combination Schlotzsky’s and Cinnabon restaurant, which is in the former Taco Bueno space, won’t open until Monday.

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Mediterraneo to open in Italian Garden space

June 18, 20094:56 p.m.

WICHITA — There’s a new restaurant that will move into the space the east-side Italian Garden is vacating.

Moe Hlayhel is opening Mediterraneo, which he says is Italian for Mediterranean. Hlayhel says he’ll feature foods from countries along the Mediterranean Sea.

“Of course, there will be a lot of pasta,” he says.

Hlayhel is a native of Lebanon. He’s worked at various Wichita restaurants, including Italian Garden. Most recently, he lived in Bahrain and worked at a company where he developed restaurant concepts and menus and helped bring restaurants to the country.

Mediterraneo will open in about three weeks, and Hlayhel says he’ll share more details about his menu closer to that time.

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