A list of national restaurant chains that have packed up and left Wichita during COVID-19
You may have noticed.
You also may not have noticed.
Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, several national restaurant chains have quietly slipped out of Wichita, leaving their spaces vacant.
Here’s a list:
Pita Pit: Wichita once had a Pita Pit restaurant at 320 N. Rock Road. It closed, then in March 2012, a new Pita Pit restaurant, focusing on healthy wrap sandwiches, opened at 3242 N. Rock Road, near Wasabi east. But recently, that restaurant closed too, as did a Pita Pit that had been operating in Derby since 2015.
PepperJax Grill: Wichita had two restaurants from this Omaha-based chain, and they specialized in Philly cheese steak sandwiches. They both opened in 2016, with the west-side store at 2616 N. Maize Road opening first, followed by one at 3130 N. Rock Road. But now, they’re both gone. Rock Road went first, and Maize Road followed a couple of months ago.
Zoe’s Kitchen, 1441 N. Webb Road: This restaurant, which opened in Wichita near Whole Foods in December 2017, closed at the beginning of the COVID-19 shutdowns in Wichita and never reopened. In June, developers confirmed that the chain was gone and not reopening. They’re now trying to find a new tenant for the space, which they describe as prime Wichita real estate.
Taco Bueno, 3530 N. Rock Road: When the Taco Bueno at Central and Hillside closed in September 2018, the North Rock Road Taco Bueno became Wichita’s last survivor from a chain that once had six local restaurants. But it closed for good in early June. Since then, it’s been announced that Taco Tico is taking over the space and should be open by late September or early October.
BurgerFi, 2441 N. Maize Road: This New Market Square burger restaurant, part of a Florida-based chain, opened in July 2018 but closed along with all other Wichita restaurants at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The restaurant’s former manager says it is not coming back.
Kneaders Bakery, 1821 N. Rock Road: This restaurant and bakery closed down at the start of COVID-19 shutdowns and never reopened. A spokesperson confirmed that the chain had closed its Wichita restaurant, and later, the home office in Utah said that Kneaders hopes to return to the Wichita market when it’s had a chance to recover in a couple of years — and that it may even go back into the same building.
This story was originally published July 20, 2020 at 12:32 PM.
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