First restaurant in Wichita’s new shipping container mall opens on Wednesday
The new Little Lion Ice Cream cafe is set to open on Wednesday, making it the first functional business in the long-awaited Revolutsia shipping container mall.
It’s also the only business that won’t be in a shipping container. Little Lion is opening in the charming stone cottage that’s long sat on the edge of the property and will anchor the development on Central, half a mile west of Hillside.
Ian and Jubilee Miller, who have long dreamed of opening their own brick-and-mortar homemade ice cream shop, have completely remodeled the inside, salvaging many of the original features of the cottage, including a stone fireplace and a cozy loft.
The shop’s new menu includes waffles with syrup, a waffle sundae topped with ice cream and a waffle parfait with yogurt, granola and fruit on top. Waffles can be ordered half or whole. There’s also a sausage burrito and a veggie burrito, a yogurt parfait, and several pastries, including scones, oatcakes and cookies.
The menu also offers 12 flavors of homemade ice cream, including coffee, strawberry, lavender, basil and lime coconut avocado. The coffee menu lists espresso drinks like macchiato, cortado, cappuccino and latte. There’s also drip coffee.
On Saturday, the couple greeted a few friends and family so they could rehearse for opening day. People tried the food and lounged in the bright new space.
Hours starting Wednesday will be 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays; 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays. The shop will be closed on Tuesdays.
The Millers started their business with a modest mobile cart in March 2016. They met Revolutsia developer Mike Ramsey when he rented them some kitchen space inside The Lux, his apartment development that also has Espresso to Go Go coffee on the ground floor.
He asked them to let him find a space for their future cafe, and he located a quaint stone cottage at the corner of Central and Volutsia that had previously held a hair salon. All thought it would be perfect for the business.
While they waited, the Millers ran a “petit cafe” inside of Espresso to Go Go, but they’ve closed it in anticipation of opening their new space.
Work is progressing on the shipping container spaces behind the cottage, and the Millers are eager to get some neighbors. Crews have been busy working through the heat for the past several weeks, especially next door at the sit of a future German restaurant and beer garden called Prost by Let’m Eat Brats food truck owners Manu and Austin English. Look for a sneak peek at that restaurant later this week.
This story was originally published July 13, 2018 at 5:57 AM.