Longtime Wichita chef turns historic Mulvane building into a destination restaurant
Mulvane has been a dining destination for Wichita ever since the 2005 opening of Luciano’s, the well-loved Italian restaurant at 216 W. Main.
Now, Wichitans are finding another delicious reason to make the 25-minute drive down K-15, and it’s right across the street from Luciano’s.
Earlier this month, Martin Martinez opened Empire Tacos inside a historic building at 219 W. Main. It’s a unique taco place with art deco decor that Martinez built in a shell of a building that dates back to 1893 and once held a hotel.
So far, the restaurant has been packed not only with locals but with people driving to Mulvane from Wellington, Haysville and Wichita to give it a try.
Martinez is already known to many restaurant fans around town. He was born and raised in Wichita, and over the years, he’s had a hand in opening and running the kitchens of many local restaurants — Black Canyon Grille, Scotch & Sirloin, John Browns, Candle Club and Old Chicago. He’s also a member of the Martinez family that owns Casa Martinez, the popular Mexican restaurant in Derby, and he worked there for 15 years before venturing out on his own.
Martinez said he was in Mulvane a few years ago for his brother’s wedding when he first saw the building, which was near the wedding venue. He noticed how busy downtown Mulvane was.
“It was a Friday night, and there was just a lot of traffic, and I was just kind of asking myself, ‘Why is this downtown not exploding right now?’” he said. “I actually started looking around for spaces.”
When he first walked into the building that would become his restaurant, it was “literally three walls and a dirt floor,” he said. There was no back wall, and rain had gotten into the building.
But he had a vision for what it could be, and once he came to an agreement with the landlord, he got to work designing the space. It took him two years to complete it, but it’s almost exactly what he pictured, he said.
“I’ve always had a fascination with art deco,” he said. “I just kind of wanted something different, something not so loud and colorful, something more relaxed, something more my style.”
Initially, Martinez was going to put the restaurant in just one side of the building, but as construction progressed, he decided to take over the next door spot, too. He opened in 2,600 square feet with seating for about 90.
The menu is focused on tacos, and Martinez’s specialty is rib eye tacos. But the rest of his menu is made up of dishes his mother cooked for him when he was growing up — burritos, nachos, taquitos and a soup called sopa de fideo, made with vermicelli noodles in a tomato broth.
“My cooking is all fresh and high quality,” he said. “Nothing in the restaurant is pre-bagged or preserved. I’m literally cooking my tortillas in the back and not just reheating them, so they have no preservatives.”
The restaurant also has a full bar.
Martinez is starting out slowly as he trains his staff, he said, and for now, he’s opening only in the evenings. His hours are 4 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 5 to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3 to 8 p.m. Sundays. Reservations are required on Saturday nights.
He also is offering a limited menu but plans to expand it as he goes. His next step is to add lunch.
And for the record, Martinez also is a big fan of Luciano’s, the restaurant that helped make Wichitans aware of Mulvane.
Owner Luciano Mottola and his wife, Nancy, have been nothing but welcoming, he said.
“They’re great, both of them,” he said. ”Nancy helped me so much during this entire build. It’s been a pretty awesome experience.”
For a Saturday-night reservation, call Empire Tacos at 316-358-7694.
Empire Tacos menu
Here is the restaurant’s opening menu. As it’s open longer, the menu will expand.
This story was originally published February 6, 2020 at 10:20 AM.
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