Wichita restaurant owner is ready to open his fourth eatery, this one on the west side
Wichita restaurateur Alex Harb will open his fourth local Meddys restaurant on Thursday in an area that’s become known as a west-side “restaurant row.”
The new restaurant, which will have the same food and cocktail menus as his first three Meddys, sits at 560 S. Ridge Road on a lot that is just east of Cracker Barrel and Cheddar’s.
It’s in new construction and features seating for 100 inside and another 46 on a spacious covered patio out front. The indoor and outdoor dining spaces are joined by a giant retractable door that can be completely open in nice weather months.
The patio, which is the largest of all the Meddys in town, will have heaters in the winter and misters in the summer, Harb said. It’s big enough for him to offer live music outside on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Harb had originally hoped to have the west-side Meddys open by now, but the COVID-19 pandemic set construction back. His three other restaurants were closed for dine-in from the start of the pandemic in March until early August, but all have made a nice recovery, he said. About 60 percent of his business comes from carryout now.
Meddys serves Mediterranean and Lebanese fare in a fast-casual environment, and all the restaurants include full bars that serve craft cocktails.
Harb is excited to see what kind of business he attracts at Kellogg and Ridge, which over the past six years has become home to a long list of restaurants, including Freddy’s, Panera, Twin Peaks, Wingstop, Cold Stone Creamery, Jimmy John’s, Rib Crib, Abeulo’s, Firehouse Subs, Chick-fil-A, Cracker Barrel and Cheddar’s.
“This is a really vibrant area,” he said. “It has a lot of lunch crowds. It’s closer to the airport and easily accessible. Traffic is really high, and there’s easy access to Kellogg.”
Harb’s first Meddys opened in 2014 at 7906 E. Harry, followed by 21st and Greenwich in 2016.
He opened his third Meddys downtown at 120 S. Washington in late 2018, and it became the design prototype he wanted to adopt for all future restaurants. Over the next two years, he retrofitted his first two restaurants with that design.
He’s still planning to open a restaurant in Tulsa, but he’s holding off until there’s more certainty surrounding COVID-19, he said.
Starting Thursday, the hours at the new Meddys will be 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
This story was originally published October 14, 2020 at 4:02 PM.
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