Pandemic actually helped speed the revival of this 1960s-era Wichita supper club
The return of a once-popular Wichita supper club might have been helped along by the coronavirus pandemic.
Eric Peabody, whose grandfather Sam Peabody and his wife, Ramona, originally opened Crazy Horse Supper Club in 1967, says he’s finally ready to open his version of the restaurant in its original spot at 2539 W. Pawnee.
Opening day will be May 18.
Peabody originally announced his revival plans back in January 2019, and that the time, he thought he’d be open a couple of months later. He’d planned to hire contractors to do the remodeling work but soon realized it would be too pricey and that he’d have to do the work himself. But he has a full-time job as crew chief at Cessna and wasn’t finding enough time to make much progress.
Then came the coronavirus pandemic. Peabody has been furloughed from work for five weeks, he said, and that’s given him time to put the finishing touches on the restaurant. He’s not expecting to be called back to Cessna until early June.
“Maybe it was a blessing in disguise,” he said.
He posted a few pictures of the finished interior, which features a new bar, new finishes throughout and remodeled restrooms. There’s seating inside for 107, though Peabody said he plans to limit seating in response to the pandemic.
He’ll also start off with a smaller menu of things like burgers and his famous bacon fried rice. Peabody said he’ll hold off on adding the delicacies onetime fans of Crazy Horse remember — like alligator tail, frog legs, bull fries and chicken gizzards — until things get back to normal.
Once open, Peabody said, he’ll serve lunch and dinner daily.
Peabody grew up hanging out at the restaurant, he said. His grandfather died in 1994 and left the restaurant to his daughters, one of whom was Peabody’s aunt. She ran it for eight years before selling it to her brother-in-law.
In 2004, new owners turned it into a Nascar-themed sports bar called Crazy Horse Sports Bar & Grill, and they got rid of most of the delicacies on the menu. That business was short-lived, though, and a bar called Geezer’s operated there in 2009 followed by Vinny’s Sports Bar & Grill in 2011. Riverside Cafe took over the spot in 2013 and left in the summer of 2017. That’s when Peabody and his sister, Jennifer Lawler, started plotting to bring it back.
A new sign should go up on the building soon. I’ll update you when Peabody finalizes all of his opening day details.
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