Wichita will have new food, drink to try at these two about-to-open businesses
Prepare, Wichita, for the arrival of two sweet new businesses over the next several days.
One sells mini doughnuts hot and fresh. The other will put your face on your latte foam.
Pete’s Donut Shack, a new food truck by Topeka transplant Pete Whitlock, will open for the first time at 7:30 a.m. Saturday in the parking lot of Westway MarketPlace, 2445 S. Seneca. Whitlock will be selling his cinnamon sugar mini-doughnts, which are made while the customer watches, as well as coffee and hot chocolate. He says he’ll stay “until the last customer comes.”
After Saturday, he’ll be parking the truck in various spots around town and says people should watch his Facebook page for his schedule.
Whitlock moved to Wichita a year ago and couldn’t stop thinking about a a popular mini-doughnut truck in Topeka and how much people loved it. He decided he’d try one out in Wichita. Whitlock had hoped to open sooner, but then the coronavirus stay-at-home orders started in Wichita and he decided to wait until things calmed down.
Then, on Monday, Derek Sorrels will open his new Papa’s General Store in the former Flavors Coffee and Ice Cream Bar spot in Clifton Square, 3700 E. Douglas.
Sorrels, who also owns Sweet ‘n Saucy in Delano, will sell coffee and ice cream, but he’s going to have some things no one else is serving.
One will be lattes featuring the faces of customers. Sorrells has a coffee printer, which will allow his baristas to print photos in the foam on top of drinks, and it only takes about 10 seconds.
He also plans to bring the offbeat sodas he sells at Sweet ‘n Saucy, 535 W. Douglas, and turn them into equally offbeat “craft” ice cream floats. For example, he says, he carries an apple pie-flavored soda that when mixed with vanilla ice cream becomes an apple pie a la mode float. He’ll also have a hot chocolate bar.
“We’re not trying to complete with Starbucks,” he said. “We’re not trying to compete with Braum’s. We’re trying to set ourselves apart.”
The space has an upstairs area, and Sorrells, who has become known at Sweet ‘n Saucy for his large variety of whimsically printed socks, plans to sell socks there. He’ll carry more kid’s and women’s sizes than he does in Delano.
Inside, people will find a unique ice cream cone-shaped table with ice cream cone-shaped chairs, and Sorrells has also expanded the deck on the west side of the store to allow for more seating.
Sorrells also is an owner of The Arcade — a retro video game palace in Old Town. The initial hours for Papa’s General Store will be 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, though Sorrells says he’ll start opening early in about 30 days.
This story was originally published May 7, 2020 at 2:40 PM.
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