October eateries, Wichita Restaurant Week, a beefy food truck

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Dempsey’s Burger Pub, 3700 E. Douglas: Steven Gaudreau is just about finished with his new burger restaurant in the former John Browns Space in Clifton Square, and he hopes to have it open by mid- to late October. The sign is up, and now Gaudreau is waiting for his oven hoods to be installed and the city to finish inspections. Gaudreau, who owns several restaurants, also has a Dempsey’s at 623 Vermont St. in Lawrence. Wichita’s Dempsey’s will serve burgers made with hormone-free beef and also offers Kobe burgers plus salads, wings, sweet potato fries, truffle fries and more. It also will have a full bar.

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Pie Five, 2755 N. Maize Road, Suite 109: Wichita’s first Pie Five Pizza Co. restaurant opened in August at 334 S. Ridge Road. The second one will open on Oct. 10 in the strip center in front of the SuperTarget at NewMarket Square. Pie Five is a build-your-own pizza restaurant, with four different kinds of crust, including gluten-free. A third Pie Five is scheduled to open in early 2015 at 21st and Rock.

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Twin Peaks West, 7325 W. Taft: The building is ready. The Twin Peaks girls are almost hired. And on Oct. 13, Wichita’s second Twin Peaks will open in a strip center near Kellogg and Ridge. The new restaurant will have some perks that the original, which opened in 2011 at 8310 E. 21st St., doesn’t, including an outdoor fire pit and a 110-inch video wall inside. It’ll also have more seating than the east-side restaurant. For more information, visit the Twin Peaks West Wichita Facebook page.

The second annual Wichita Restaurant Week is almost here, and the organizers have announced the list of participants. The event, a fundraiser that offers chances to sample food from several local restaurants at special prices, will be Oct. 10-19. It’s put on by Go Wichita, the Kansas Restaurant & Hospitality Association and the Boys & Girls Club of South Central Kansas as a fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Club. Last year’s event happened in late June and raised about $8,000.

The restaurants signed up for this year include AVI, Chester’s Chophouse, Doo-Dah Diner, Firebirds, Public at the Brickyard, Taste & See, The Monarch, Newport Grill and Twelve. A complete list of the 20 restaurants joining in can be found online at http://wichitarestaurantweek.com/. The participants each will offer prix fixe (fixed-price) meals that offer a glimpse of the type of food they serve. Each restaurant will serve either a $10, $20 or $40 meal. Ten percent of the sales from Restaurant Week meals will go to the Boys and Girls Clubs. We will have a more detailed story in next week’s Go!

Fans of Big B’s Beef, the restaurant focusing on Chicago-style sandwiches that closed at 605 W. Douglas in Delano in late August, have two reasons to get hungry again. Owners Liz and Brian Bathgate say they are working on opening a Big B’s food truck, which will get their Chicago-style cuisine back on the streets. It won’t be ready before spring, though. In the meantime, customers can get a taste of Big B’s at what the Bathgates hope will become monthly events at Woodland Lakes Community Church, 770 S. Greenwich. From noon to 5 p.m. on Oct. 18, the Bathgates will sell their food there as part of a fundraiser. The event will have a spacious seating area, and the owners will serve their main menu items, including Italian beef sandwiches, Italian sausages, Chicago dogs and more, for dine-in or carryout. They’ll also accept orders for larger platters. Customers can place orders in advance via e-mail (bigbsbeef@hotmail.com), on their Facebook page, or by calling 316-727-9935.

The 2014 Champagne & Chocolate Fantasy Evening, a fundraiser for Wichita State University’s RiteCare Speech, Language and Hearing Clinic, happens at 6 p.m. Friday at the Wichita Scottish Rite Center, 332 E. First St. It will include champagne, appetizers, chocolates from Nifty Nut House, a chocolate fountain and a sugar-free section. It also will include a silent and live auction. Tickets are $50 or $400 for a table of eight. Call 316-263-4218 to reserve tickets.

This story was originally published October 1, 2014 at 6:09 PM with the headline "October eateries, Wichita Restaurant Week, a beefy food truck."