Wichita’s N&J Cafe has just been passed to the next generation, and changes are in store
One of Wichita’s favorite Mediterranean restaurants has just been passed on to the next generation, and the brothers taking over have big plans for its future — including an all-new look.
But first, they’re putting on a big fundraiser for victims of the recent explosion in Beirut, and on Saturday, they’ll donate every dollar they make from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. to the Lebanese Red Cross.
Nick and John Srour, whose late father, John, founded N&J Cafe in 1991, took over the restaurant from their mother, Mona, about three weeks ago. She had run the it for the past 15 years. Her ex-husband, John Sr., died in 2011.
Together, the brothers have run John’s Pita Bakery for the past 12 year out of a space in the same strip center as N&J, and they provide pita not only to N&J Cafe but also to local restaurants like Meddys and Bella Luna Cafe. They also have accounts in Tulsa, Oklahoma City and Kansas City.
Now, they’re preparing to make their family restaurant their own. Their first step, they said, will be to remove all frozen foods from the kitchen.
“We grew up under my dad running the place, and we’d like to get back to that point, where there’s a lot of passion in it, where we put our pride in the dishes and not just tin the fact that we’ve been there a long time,” Nick said.
Their next step is to give the restaurant a more modern look, both on the inside and the outside. Nick said they’ve teamed up with their friend Janelle King, owner of The Workroom and a designer, and they are deep into planning the remodel.
They hope to have it done within six months to a year.
The new look will retain all of the massive dining space the restaurant currently uses and will add a sit-down bar, Nick said. The N&J Global Market next door, owned by sister Bettina Tobassi, will remain.
The menu will stay mostly the same, Nick said, though the brothers hope to frequently offer more Lebanese food specials.
Nick said he and his brother have never been to Lebanon, but they feel a connection to the country their father immigrated from in the 1960s.
They still have relatives there, and many of their fellow Wichita restaurant and business owners know someone who was affected by the blast.
“Honestly, we wouldn’t be anything without what that country gave to my father,” Nick said. “We felt it was a good idea to re-engage with the Lebanese community and do something good for good people there.”
This story was originally published August 13, 2020 at 12:44 PM.
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