Owner shares opening date for new Barn’rds restaurant — and closing date for original
The end is almost near for the Barn’rds restaurant that has operated for 37 years at 2037 N. Woodlawn.
But that also means that the beginning for the brand-new Barn’rds restaurant on the northwest side of town is near.
Troy Hertel, who helps run the roast beef restaurant his family founded, said today that owners have settled on an opening date for the new restaurant at 37th and Maize as well as on a closing date for the longtime store at 21st and Woodlawn.
The last day in business at the original restaurant will be Friday, Sept. 4. The new one will open on Tuesday, Sept. 15.
Hertel says he gets questions every day about the timeline for the transition.
“Most people have been really excited for us and understanding, and others are disappointed, and sometimes they let us know,” he said. “I appreciate their passion.”
In March, Hertel announced that the family would close the original restaurant when the new one opened. They’d seen too many small restaurants expand too dramatically only to lose everything, he said at the time, and he didn’t want that to happen to Barn’rds.
The new building at 3860 N. Maize Road will have double the space as the old one — about 3,800 square feet — and will seat about 100 as opposed to the current Barn’rds, which seats 70. It also will have a patio that will seat about 20, plus a drive-through.
Hertel said that the new restaurant will also offer more kid-friendly meals like chicken strips. And it will be open later: Hours will be 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
Barn’rds, which is known for its roast beef, vegetable soup and chicken salad, first opened in the barn-shaped building on Woodlawn in 1983. It’s run by founder Ken Hertel and his wife, Carol, his son, Troy, and Troy’s wife, Maria.
The family owns the building at 21st and Woodlawn and has it listed it for sale, Hertel said.
The new restaurant, which has been under construction since October, sits a few lots north of the Dairy Queen, right across the street from Wichita State University’s west campus.
Hertel said the new building is coming together nicely and that crews just need to finish the parking lot and get the furniture moved in.
Most of his employees from the east-side store will make the move with him, he said.
He admits it will be strange to be working in a new part of town.
“I wonder how many days I’m going to drive this way to work,” he said. “I’m so used it. I’ve been doing this since I was 16.”
This story was originally published August 18, 2020 at 10:06 AM.
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