Will Wichita’s Coney Island Hot Weiners ever open? Despite delays, owners say it’s close
At first, the partners bringing Coney Island Hot Weiners to Wichita’s Delano neighborhood estimated they’d be ready to open in November 2018.
That got pushed to January, then to March. When we last heard from the owners, they were aiming for early May, which came and went.
Now it’s June, and Michael Frimel, who’s opening the restaurant with partners Tad Fugate and Drayton Alldritt, say this is really, truly, for sure going to be the month they start serving up their coneys, Frito pies, chili and tamales.
Their goal is to open the restaurant, which has been slowly taking shape at 1001 W. Douglas (next to TJ’s Burger House at the corner of Douglas and Walnut), on or around June 20, Frimel said.
“We’re moving along,” he said. “It has been a lot slower than what we thought.”
The reason for the delay isn’t controversial, though, he said. The partners decided to take their time working on “branding” the restaurant — fine-tuning its graphics, signage and overall look and feel. They hired Bill Gardner of Gardner Design and took their time making sure everything was just how they wanted it, especially since they have a 12-state licensing agreement for the concept and plan to build many more restaurants, including a couple more in Wichita.
“We thought it was going to be as simple as ‘open the door, throw in a kitchen and be done,’” Frimel said. “And as we talked more about a brand that would go over a 12-state geographic area, we wanted to make sure we had something that would resonate around the country other than the food. We wanted to have a recognizable brand.”
The plans for the menu, though, haven’t changed, he said. The specialty will still be a 5 1/2-inch-long hot dog on a Wichita-made bun topped with mustard, cheese, chili and onions.
The owners also are planning to launch a companion food truck but have decided to wait until after the restaurant opens to send it out. They have a 1955 Wonder Bread delivery truck that will serve only coney dogs, chips, soft drinks and water, and they envision it frequently being used as a catering option for companies and sports teams who want to serve big groups an inexpensive meal. The truck also will make appearances at food truck rallies.
But first comes the restaurant, and Frimel said he’s pleased with the progress. The team has hired a general manager and a regional manager and some of the staff, who will soon head to Tulsa, where the chain is based, for training.
“Once we get this first one under out belts, that will make it so much easier to move out from there,” he said.
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