Owner of 30-year-old Wichita restaurant, who fed high schoolers for years, dies at 81
Michael Khoury’s story matches those of many restaurant pioneers in Wichita.
He moved here as a young man from Beirut, Lebanon, to attend college at Wichita State University. When he finished, he stayed and later, he opened a restaurant that became his life’s passion.
Khoury, the owner of Po Boy Pizza at 5619 E. Lincoln, died Thursday evening at age 81, said his son Matthew.
The restaurant, which has been closed for more than a week as Khoury’s health declined, will reopen, Matthew said. But the family hasn’t decided when.
Matthew said his father loved the restaurant, which he first opened in 1990 where N&J Cafe operates now. About seven years later, he moved it across the street to its current location.
After he opened the restaurant, Matthew said, his father brought his mother, May, over from Lebanon. The two ran the restaurant, known for its unique folded pizza rolls, ever since.
“It was a nice job, and they got to spend time with each other,” said Matthew, who worked at the restaurant during his teen years along with his older brother, Ryan. “He and my mom would always try to come up with cool new recipes. That’s how they came up with the pizza roll.”
When Khoury first opened the restaurant, Southeast High School was a neighbor, and his clientele was largely high school students. In 1990, the Eagle published a story about Khoury delivering pizza rolls to students at Southeast and neighboring Curtis Middle School, going head-to-head with Pizza Hut, whose products were delivered or made at the schools.
It was “heartbreaking” when Southeast moved to 127th Street East and Pawnee in 2015, Matthew said. But former students who had eaten there through high school would still regularly bring their own children in to try their old favorite.
As Khoury’s health declined, he still wanted to come to the restaurant but would sit in the back and observe, Matthew said. He always hated to close because he worried about the regulars who liked to hang out there playing in the restaurant’s mini-arcade of retro video games.
“His whole thing was the community,” Matthew said. “I remember him a lot of times giving pizza rolls out to students who didn’t have enough money.”
Khoury is survived by his wife, May, and his sons Ryan and Matthew.
This story was originally published November 1, 2019 at 11:51 AM.
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