In memoriam: Restaurants Wichita loved, then lost, in 2019
It’s the end of the year — a time for Wichita foodies to reflect on all the good things they ate and to mourn the things they will never eat again.
Indeed, Wichita lost many restaurants this year, as it does every year. Some will be harder to forget than others. Some we’ve already forgotten.
Here’s your reminder, and a look back at what was before 2019 took it away.
January
Moe’s Sub Shop, 2815 S. Hydraulic: This one technically closed in the final hours of 2018, but since we missed it last year, it deserves a mention. Owner Margi Lanciano closed the restaurant at the end of business on Dec. 31, saying it just wasn’t busy enough. It opened in 1988.
Beijing Bistro, 11309 E. Kellogg: Andy Liao opened this east-side Chinese restaurant in 2005 and ran it for years with the help of his family. But he died suddenly in May of 2018, and though they tried for a while, they couldn’t keep it going. They cited grief, stress and Kellogg road construction when they announced in mid January that they were closing the restaurant.
Jimmy’s Egg, 3801 E. Harry: In January, Morrie Sheets and Wink Hartman closed down this Jimmy’s Egg, which had opened in 2011. They blamed road construction that kept people from accessing the parking lot. When the lease was up, they decided not to renew.
March
Reverie at the Kiva, Garvey Center, 250 W. Douglas: Reverie Coffee Roasters owner Andrew Gough closed one of his three coffee shops on the first day of March this year. This one was on the lower level of the Garvey Center and had been open for a little over a year. He said the shop never lived up to the sales he was hoping for. By June, the space had a new tenant: a second location of Kira Ottoway’s Perfect Plate.
Family Cafe, 2849 N. Broadway: JR and Vickie Shurtz opened this cafe in 1988 and fed Wichita home-style meals for three decades. When 2019 dawned, they decided to retire. By June, the building had a new tenant: Gordita’s Norma, which moved from a smaller space a few blocks to the south.
Omar’s Kitchen, 2801 W. Central: Ranya Taha and Bashar Mahanweh had this little Mediterranean cafe open for about a year. They said they closed it to open a new location of their Petra Cafe, which closed after it burned in November 2017, but that still hasn’t happened. There’s now a new taco place called Gerardo’s Restaurant in the space.
Dickey’s east, 2244 N. Greenwich: The east-side location of this barbecue chain, which had opened in October 2014, closed in March, and in April, the contents of the restaurant were auctioned off. The space has now been taken over by California Tortilla, a new restaurant that will open in early January.
April
Fetch Bar & Grill, 7718 E. 37th St. North: Greg and Pamela Buss were famous for getting celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay to remodel their restaurant as part of his reality show “24 Hours to Hell and Back.” But that wasn’t enough to keep their dog-friendly eatery open, and they closed it at the end of April. Fetch originally opened as Fetch Bistro in late 2016. In October, Greg Buss and his partner Tony Sawyer’s Fetch Bar & Grill in Moundridge was seized by the Kansas Department of Revenue for nonpayment of taxes totaling $17,359.17.
Sweet Basil, 2424 N. Woodlawn: For 25 years, it had been one of Wichita’s go-to Italian restaurants, and even after it closed down for almost a year after a 2014 fire, Sweet Basil still kept many of its fans. But in late April, owner Charli Singh closed the restaurant.
Dickey’s west, 2768 N. Maize Road: On the tail of the east-side Dickey’s closing, the west-side location had an overnight fire that caused $50,000 in damage. It’s never reopened. The west store first opened in October 2014.
LaMar’s Donuts and Coffee, 3301 E. Harry: This shop, which originally opened in 2008, closed in late April after franchisee Doug Wessley lost the lease on the space. Wichita still has LaMar’s at 10051 W. 21st St. and 3130 N. Rock Road.
June
Zaytun Bistro, 2020 N. Woodlawn: Syed Abbas opened this reliable Mediterranean/Turkish/Pakistani restaurant in Brittany Center in 2009 and it was known for its flavorful buffet. But he got behind on his rent, according to a lawsuit filed by his landlord, and he closed the restaurant, saying he was moving out of town.
Marco’s Cantina, 6600 W. Central: This Mexican restaurant managed to stay in business for 34 years, but in June, owner Sam Eddine quietly closed up shop. Another Mexican restaurant, Pueblo Viejo, moved in not long after but quickly closed. Early next year, a seafood place called Sam’s Southern Eatery will open in the space.
July
Kanai, 12111 W. Maple: It had long been considered Wichita’s best sushi restaurant, but in July, chef David Kanai and his wife, Mari, closed their restaurant after nine years, saying they were ready for a change. Chef Kanai’s sushi is still available, though. The couple is catering and doing occasional carryout orders and chef dinners at the restaurant space.
Roxie’s in Riverside, 828 W. 11th St.: Raquel Ramirez never quite found her groove in the little hut in Riverside that she opened as a snack shop in the summer of 2018 before eventually turning it into a carryout place focused on Mexican fare. She finally decided to close it for good in July and focus on her Roxie’s on the River in the Farm Credit Bank Building.
Cowboy Chicken, 3130 N. Rock Road: The chicken restaurant boom that took over Wichita in 2018 had its first major casualty in August when chicken chain Cowboy Chicken closed after only a year in business. The contents of the restaurant were auctioned off.
Gabel’s Family Restaurant, 1215 W. Pawnee : Craig Gabel, who had owned a string of Wichita restaurants over the years, closed his diner when his lease expired in July. Gabel first got possession of the Pawnee space in 2009 and ran it as a few different concepts, even leasing it out to others a couple of times. He opened it as Gabel’s Family Diner in 2017
Bionic Burger, 6121 E. 21st St.: One day, the Wichita area had five Bionic Burger restaurants. The next, it was down to four. The owners closed this location, which had operated for nine and a half years, when their lease ended this summer.
The Barbe-Q-Pit at 4520 E. 47th. St. South. Eric King and his investor performed a major renovation on the inside of the old Jezebel’s building. But less than a month after they opened their big new barbecue restaurant there, they closed it over a disagreement.
August
Sit @ Thai Bistro, 7603 W. 21st St.: It opened in 2009, but after 10 years, this Thai restaurant quietly closed. A new Thai restaurant called Krua Thai took over the space and opened in September.
Walt’s Famous Hamburgers, 1710 S. West St.: Cindi Mann had owned this hamburger restaurant for 12 years but sold it when she was approached by the owners of Los Mexican Burritos, a Mexican food place at 3005 E. Pawnee, who said they were interested in the building. Mann said that her husband had just retired from his longtime job, and she decided she’d like to join him.
Cortez Mexican Restaurant, 344 W. 29th. St. North: Mary and Enrique Cortez put their longtime Mexican restaurant on the market in 2016 after 32 years. They closed the restaurant in February of 2017 saying they needed a break but reopened in 2018 when it didn’t sell, Finally, though, they found a buyer — Jaime Cazares of Tacos Porfias — and turned the building over in August.
September
Parsnipity Cafe, 301 N. Main: LumpiaPalooza owners Cynthia and Craig Bjork, overwhelmed by the stress of running two businesses, closed down their cafe on the ground floor of the Epic Center in September. They’d had it for three years. Since then, the space has been taken over by a satellite location of Il Primo Espresso.
Kolace, 8641 W. 13th St.: This restaurant, which specialized in stuffed Czechoslovakian pastries called kolaches, was open a little less than two years in the new Tyler Pointe development at 13th and Tyler.
Quiznos, 111 W. Douglas: It had been a reliable lunch stop for downtown workers in a hurry for 22 years. But in September, Wichita’s second-to-last Quiznos closed, leaving 550 N. Webb Road as the last Wichita location of this once-popular sandwich chain.
Pueblo Viejo Family Mexican Restaurant, 6600 W. Central: It opened in July in the former Marco’s Cantina spot, but it was gone by September.
October
Taste of Soul Chicken & Waffles, Towne East Square: Apparently, chicken and waffles and shopping don’t mix. This Towne East vendor opened in the main food court of Towne East just after Christmas last year but was closed by fall. A new restaurant has already taken over, though: Athens, a restaurant that serves build-your-own wraps and bowls.
Rostizeria Los Reyes, 512 W. 21st St.: This Mexican restaurant had been open for 22 years, but it closed in October, a year after a family member was killed in a tragic kitchen fire at the restaurant.
November
Magoos Bar & Grill, 2304 S. Oliver: It had been open since 2006, but in November, the owners of Magoos Bar & Grill announced on Facebook that the business was “closed until further notice.”
1985 Arcade Bar + Grill, 1021 W. Maple: The bar at Seneca and Maple that opened in February — and that famously featured a mural of Doc Brown and Marty McFly — closed this fall, and now there’s a “for lease” sign in the window. Scott Stickney, a longtime video game repairman, opened the bar in February and offered about 20 retro arcade games, 10 pinball machines and a burger menu.
Funky Monkeys Shaved Ice 21+ J.D. Young’s new location for his Funky Monkeys Shaved Ice 21+ was shortlived. He opened the spot, which sold alcohol-infused shaved ice drinks, in June at 216 N. Washington but closed it in November, saying the space “wasn’t able to sustain itself in the Wichita market.”
Los Cabos Mexican Grill, 7011 W. Central: Juan Lopez and his family, who have about 13 Mexican restaurants across the region, opened this restaurant in the Crossroads Shopping Center in July but closed it in November, saying that there wasn’t enough traffic at the spot.
Dempsey’s Burger Pub East, 550 N. Rock Road: It opened in 2017, but in early November, the east location of this burger restaurant had closed. Owner Steven Gaudreau, the Lawrence-based owner of the restaurant, said that he’d just overextended himself and that he was hoping to sell the space to someone else. The original Wichita Dempsey’s Burger Pub in Clifton Square is still open.
December
Bob & Luigi’s, 4559 N. Woodlawn: This pizza and pasta restaurant had operated in Bel Aire since 2001, but owners Eliot and Becky Green closed it in early December. The Bob & Luigi’s in Andover is still open.
Las Mananitas, 2347 N. Arkansas: This Mexican restaurant closed this month but a Facebook post indicated that another restaurant would soon be moving into the space.
Donut Whole East, 3750 N. Woodlawn: The downtown Donut Whole is still open, but owner Tariq Azmi closed the east-side restaurant after less than a year, saying that business never picked up.
Restaurants that closed so they could reopen elsewhere
Songbird Juice Co.: In October, Marty Spence moved her cold-pressed juice cafe from 1142 N. Bitting to 1617 Briggs.
Chick N Max: The original Chick N Max restaurant, which opened in January 2018 at 410 N. Hillside, closed in October and moved to the space at 352 S. West St. where Moo-Yah once operated. The restaurant reopened in late November. Owner Max Sheets said he decided to make the change because the new spot had a drive through.
Noble House: Chef Akamu Noble this month closed his Noble House Hawaiian restaurant, which opened at 3238 E. Douglas in 2017. He plans to reopen in January at 3019 E. Central.
Sorrel’s Jamaican Food: This restaurant moved from 3090 W. 13th St. to 222 S. Commerce, where it reopened in November.
Angry Elephant: Santiago Munoz closed his restaurant at 2529 S. Hillside in October then moved and reopened it this week at 767 N. Tyler.
This story was originally published December 19, 2019 at 5:01 AM.
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