A list of Wichita restaurants that opened while you were distracted by Christmas
When holiday prep is in full swing and you’re distracted by last-minute shopping, wrapping and cooking, it’s easy to miss important happenings around you — like restaurant openings, for example.
But in fact, Wichita gained several new eateries just before and just after Christmas.
Here are the ones you might have missed while engaged in all that fa-la-la.
Ninza Sushi, 306 N. Rock Road: Ada Yang and her husband, Han, who already have a west-side Ninza Sushi and also own Blue Fin in downtown Wichita, opened their third sushi restaurant just after Christmas in the former McAlister’s Deli space at 306 N. Rock Road.
The new restaurant has an expanded menu and offers more appetizers, rolls and sashimi. It also has a lounge. The hours are 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Fridays, noon to 10:30 p.m. Saturdays, and noon to 9:30 p.m. Sundays. The lounge will close 30 minutes later.
The couple opened their first Ninza Sushi in Northwest Centre, 13th and Tyler, six years ago. Just after Thanksgiving in 2017, though, an accidental electrical fire destroyed much of the restaurant. They rebuilt it and reopened it in October 2018. In April of last year, the couple took over Blue Fin, a sushi restaurant at 255 N. Washington in Old Town.
Panera, 2648 N. Greenwich Court: Wichita’s newest Panera opened on Monday at 2684 North Greenwich Court, in Greenwich Place. It has a drive through and is open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays.
The new restaurant, which is in the fast-growing development that also has the new Dave & Buster’s, is Wichita’s fifth Panera.
Birney’s Snack Shop, 156 N. Cleveland: Janelle King’s unique and tiny snack shop opened just before Christmas at Cleveland Corner, which is attached to her popular gift shop, The Workroom. It features a DIY toast bar, breakfast tacos, LMNO pizza, coffee, tea and kombucha. The snack bar also has its liquor license and serves beer and specialty drinks.
There’s seating for about 16 inside and a patio outside. Birney’s Snack Shop is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays; and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays.
Journey East Asia Grill, 4510 E. 19th St.: This new build-your-own Asian bowl restaurant opened just before Christmas at at Braeburn Square — the fast-growing retail complex on the Wichita State University campus that already has a Starbucks and a Fuzzy’s Taco Shop.
It’s owned by Fitzgerald Tsen, who partnered with the owners of Malaysia Cafe, the restaurant that’s been at 7777 E. 21st St. since 1999, to open a new concept. Customers can go down a line, Chipotle style, and choose from various ingredients representing several different Asian cuisines to build a unique dish.
The large restaurant has a back patio facing a man-made pond, and it also is a shuttle stop on WSU game day. Soon, the owners hope to add on-campus delivery.
The hours for Journey east Asian Grill are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
Wichita Chicken, 1305 N. Hillside: Just before Christmas, Abdul Melhem and his partner Hadi Hadi opened a new chicken restaurant in an old Church’s Chicken space. It sells fried chicken, spicy and regular chicken tenders, fried catfish, fried shrimp and sides like fried okra, cole slaw, mashed potatoes and jambalaya.
Wichita Chicken’s hours are 9 a.m. to midnight Sundays through Thursdays and 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
This story was originally published January 2, 2020 at 12:25 PM.
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