The owner of one of Wichita’s oldest family-run restaurants has died at age 73
The owner of one of Wichita’s oldest family-run restaurants has died after a two-year battle with throat cancer.
Larry Conover, who dedicated his life to preserving Town & Country — the restaurant at 4702 W. Kellogg that his father founded 63 years ago — died on Friday with family members by his side. He was 73.
Larry was diagnosed two years ago and had been in declining health ever since, his brother, Michael, said. Once a constant, busy presence in the restaurant — a throwback family place known for its home cooking, lunch counter and vinyl booths — in recent years, Larry would come in only two hours a day, then eventually not at all.
Two of his most trusted employees had been keeping Town & Country running in his absence, Michael said, and now, he’s stepping in on a volunteer basis to keep the place going. A longtime customer, who doesn’t yet want to be identified, has agreed to buy Town & Country and plans to keep it running just as Larry had, Michael said.
Michael, a retired highway patrol trooper, decided on the day his big brother died that he wanted to help with the transition.
“After he died, that night I went home and I thought about it,” Michael said. “I just thought, ‘The place needs somebody to be here and keep it strong.’”
Larry, a Wichita native and the oldest of seven children, first started working in his father’s restaurant when he was just 11 years old. Jay Conover, a World War II Veteran with an entrepreneurial spirit, had taken over the restaurant attached to the Town & Country Lodge in 1957. At the time, the city limit was at West Street.
Jay ran the restaurant with his family’s help until he died of esophageal cancer in 1980. At the time, Larry was the only one of the seven Conover kids with the interest and ability to run the business, and he took over. When his mother, Geraldine, died in 2007, he became the sole owner.
Larry, a modest man with a big white beard who loved his employees and customers alike, was nonetheless frustrated by the restaurant business over the past 15 years. Wichita’s smoking ban, instituted in 2010, hit his business hard for a while — he was one of the last holdouts who didn’t offer a non-smoking section to his clientele made up of many smokers.
Increasing restaurant competition also frustrated him, but few things stressed him out more than the Kellogg expansion. Constant work on the highway that runs right beside the restaurant made it increasingly hard for customers to get to, and for years he fought rumors the restaurant was closing.
Through all of it, though, Larry was a dedicated businessman, a compassionate employer and the leader of his big family, his brother said.
“If he had any fault, he was probably a little too generous,” Michael Conover said. “He had a hard time saying no to anyone about anything.”
Larry had a long marriage to his wife, Sharon Kay, who died in December after a long illness. He is survived by three stepdaughters, his brother, Michael, and five sisters, one of whom, Sharon, owns Wichita’s Copper Oven Cafe with her husband, Phil Schoenhofer.
Larry insisted he did not want a big service, his brother said, and they are honoring his wishes. He knew what was coming and was prepared to go, Michael said.
“You can’t get mad about it,” he said. “Life is about one thing: You live and you die, and Larry knew that. We all feel blessed that he had 73 years with us. We’re tickled to have had him that long, and we’re going to miss the heck out of him.”
This story was originally published March 9, 2020 at 10:37 AM.
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