Chicken and waffles while you shop: A new dining option at the mall

Indian food is out, chicken and waffles are in at Towne East Square’s food court.

Those who have visited the mall lately may have noticed that the food court space next to Charleys Philly Steaks that used to hold Indian food vendor New Paradise was covered up.

Behind the curtain, a new restaurant is going in, and its owners hope to have it open by Dec. 1.

It will be called Taste of Soul Southern Chicken and Waffles, and it will specialize in a hand-held chicken-and-waffle sandwich called a “wafflewich.” It will also serve more traditional chicken and waffles, featuring chicken wings arranged on top of a buttermilk waffle.

The owners are Ricki and Cerese Bly, who own two food trucks and a stationary restaurant in Oklahoma City. Over the holidays last year, they opened a temporary pop-up restaurant that served chicken and waffles in a kiosk at Oklahoma City’s Penn Square Mall, which just like Towne East is owned by Simon Malls.

It was a hit and was slammed with business every day, Cerese said. At the end of the season, the management said they’d like the Blys to consider opening something more permanent and told them they had a spot in Wichita.

The couple had been to Wichita before. Ricki’s cousin, Diamond Lockhart, played basketball for Wichita State University. They decided to go for it.

The couple got their start in 2012 with a food truck called Taste of Soul Egg Roll Eatery. They bought another food truck in 2014 and called it Taste of Soul Chicken and Waffle. They also now have a stationary Taste of Soul restaurant in an office building in Oklahoma City.