The city of Wichita has produced an official response to a recent skit on Kimmel’s show that spoofs the city as a “Wichitawesome” place for spring break.
The video itself isn’t so official, though. Instead, it takes off on a spring break theme where a cardboard cutout Jimmy Kimmel gets drunk off a beer bong at an Old Town bar, vomits by the Arkansas River and gets some handsy treatment from a TSA agent at the airport.
“It went right there to the edge, but it does have natural attention, and individuals are looking at it,” Mayor Carl Brewer says.
He says staff in the city manager’s office, including spokeswoman Lauragail Locke, produced the video. Brewer first saw it Tuesday. By this morning, it had 3,000 views.
Brewer says if he and City Council members had produced the video, “we’d probably have been a lot more conservative than that, but then if we had done it, we’d have a lot less than 3,000 hits.”
“So I think we were on the mark,” she says. “Our goal was to produce a video that would appeal to his late night talk show television audience in the hopes of getting on national TV. … We just want to draw more attention to our city and show that we are a fun place, and we have a lot to offer.” Locke says the main point was to invite Kimmel here.
She adds, referring to the city’s cable network, “It was definitely not meant for a City7 audience.”
Locke says she’s not sure how much the video cost, but she says money spent was mainly for the cutout that a company produced and a sound effect that was used in the video. It was shot with city staff and equipment.
The mayor’s response was to call Kimmel field producer Sarah Robe, a native Wichitan, and invite the talk show host to town. That’s when he says he heard that “many of the staff there thought Wichita was a fictitious city.”
“She had to educate them and tell them no, whoever did it did their homework, and it was a real city.”
Robe tells Have You Heard? that staffers do in fact know of Wichita, but they didn’t realize that places in the video, such as Scotch & Sirloin, are real.
“That’s why it’s funny, too, and why it resonates because it’s a town that everyone’s heard of,” she says.
Writer Jonathan Bines is responsible for the original Wichitawesome video spoofing Wichita as a great spring break destination.
“Whenever a comedy writer thinks about the top anything, they immediately try to think of what the bottom might be,” he says. “It’s nothing against Wichita.”
Metro Grill owner Michael Gonzalezhas entered into a partnership to sell some of his popular sandwiches and salads at the new club.
He’s particularly excited for customers who have been wanting to enjoy his food with a bottle of wine. Gonzalez says he’s frequently asked about that, but his location in Towne East Square’s food court doesn’t have it, nor does Metro Grill II in Andover, which he recently sold.
Gonzalez still hopes to sell sandwiches at other Wichita bars, which is a new venture he’s exploring, but he says he has to make sure everything runs smoothly at Encore first.
WICHITA — Since selling his Andover restaurant, Metro Grill owner Michael Gonzalez has been thinking of ways to expand his business, which started in Towne East Square.
“I can’t stay away from the kitchen, so here I go,” says Gonzalez, who has been making pitches to other area restaurants to carry his popular sandwiches.
“He was like, ‘Hey, I know this sounds kind of crazy, but I think I have the best food in town,’” says Encore Restaurant and Nightclub owner Michael Todd, who is one of the business owners Gonzalez made his pitch to.
“I just assumed it was another guy trying to make a dollar.”
Encore is in the former O’Brien’s Irish Pub space next to Scotch & Sirloin.
Gonzalez brought along his brother, Jose, for the pitch. Todd had two thoughts after meeting them.
“Either these are the best salesmen I’ve ever seen, or they have the best food.”
So he went to Towne East to check it out.
“Sure enough, they are the best salesmen and they have great food,” Todd says. “They’re so pumped. Their food isn’t just a product they made. It’s really from their heart.”
He quizzed people he knows about Metro Grill.
“It’s just nonstop love for the place. Not a bad remark for anything from there.”
So Todd is discontinuing most of his current menu, except for pizza, and adding eight Metro Grill sandwiches and two salads. He may expand the offerings eventually.
WICHITA — Two more former Scotch & Sirloin employees have filed a lawsuit against Scotch Investment Corp.
Former managers Saprina Almosrati and Lindsey Moate filed a federal lawsuit last week over their dismissal from the restaurant for what they say are issues related to past lawsuits waitresses have filed against the company.
Almosrati and Moate claim they were fired for their unwillingness to lie or falsify documents related to those lawsuits.
In recent years, two former waitresses sued the company claiming they were fired or reassigned jobs after becoming pregnant.
Part of that lawsuit included a claim that the Scotch has wage payment practices that are in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The claim that money had been illegally deducted from waitresses’ pay for cooks and advertising became certified as a collective action.
Each of the discrimination cases was settled and the company has paid the wage claims.
Randy Rathbun, the attorney who filed the lawsuits on behalf of those clients, also is representing Almosrati and Moate in their suit against Scotch Investment.
“We’ve got a situation where they tried to cover up wrongdoing with lies,” Rathbun says. “If they would have been honest from the start and not tried to get people to lie about it . . . it would have been much less of a problem to them than it is now.”
General manager Sonny Glennon says what Almosrati and Moate are claiming is wrong.
“I really don’t think I’ve done anything,” he said. “I didn’t do anything except do what I had to do to run a business, and unfortunately, I’m going to have to listen to what other people have to say.”
The two already have Dudley’s Sports Bar and Grill on the west side near 21st and Tyler, Mulligan’s Pub on the east side near 32nd Street North and Rock Road, and O’Brien’s Irish Pub along East Kellogg by Scotch & Sirloin.
Now, though, they’re selling Mulligan’s and O’Brien’s. It looks like the sale will allow them to focus on opening Joe’s in late October or early November and continue running Dudley’s.
Joe’s, which will be at 222 N. Washington, will be similar to Dudley’s. It’s known for its burgers, pizza and bar food. Joe’s also will offer some lighter fare for business lunches and dinners.
Brad Beyer, formerly of Mike’s Wine Dive, will be the manager and chef.
At O’Brien’s, Michael Todd and Andey Ast are taking over and renaming it Encore Restaurant and Nightclub.
Encore’s grand opening is Nov. 5.
Todd, who has been in construction since age 18, says he’s “just kind of tired of banging a hammer.”
He likes O’Brien’s location on East Kellogg, and he also likes the numbers he’s seen for the business.
Morris says some people still don’t know she moved. She’s ordered a large LED sign, which will soon be installed.
Kemp is using the former Tux Shop dressing rooms to offer services. She and Morris think their businesses can work well together and plan to offer packages where customers can shop and receive services.
“What fun a woman can have,” Morris says. “We’ll make it real special.”
She calls them “play days.”
A basic package for $99 includes hair styling, nail services, massage and personalized shopping in half-hour increments.
A deluxe package is $199 for one-hour increments and includes a gift.
Limo service also will be available along with catering for groups or parties who want the packages.
Cathy Stevens, who used to own Nail Fa-nail-ia is the nail technician.
Morris says they’re still looking for an experienced massage therapist.
“This is people helping people is what it really is,” she says.
“That was our whole goal coming together,” Kemp says. “The whole thing is just an experience.”
Being in the East Kellogg space has been an experience for Morris, too.
She says a lot of customers remember it from when it was the popular Cowboy Club.
Morris says customers come in and say things such as, “You don’t know how many weekends I’ve been in this place and gotten smashed.”
Part of the suit said the Scotch has wage payment practices that are in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Nuss said money was illegally deducted from waitresses’ pay for cooks, dishwashers and advertising.
That portion of the lawsuit was certified as a collective action. Current or former waitresses (dating back to March 17, 2007) could opt into the wage claim.
That’s the part of the suit that’s been settled.
A gag order prevents either side from talking. According to court documents, though, 20 waitresses are included in the settlement, and they are to receive twice the amount of tips they contended were wrongfully withheld along with attorney fees.