West High grad takes over, revamps the south Wichita bar he used to sneak in to
Back when he was a student at West High School, Hamendra Bhakta had a mustache and looked old enough that he would often manage to sneak in to the bar just few blocks away — Champ’s Bar & Grill, 1106 S. Seneca
So when Bhakta noticed that his old hangout had closed shortly after the pandemic started, he said, he couldn’t let it stand.
In May, he and partner Jason Bradley — another West High alumnus— took over the 3,000 square-foot space from the previous owners and have spent the time since doing a total gut job on the interior, taking the bar from a dark, carpeted 1990s relic to a bright and airy sports bar with new floors, fixtures and furnishings.
They’ll open it to the public on Wednesday with a new name — Champs 316 Bar & Grill.
“We thought it of an opportunity to revive an old West High tradition,” Bhakta said.
Bhakta, who over the summer opened BDs Mongiolion Grill at Douglas and Rock, also owns the Global Collision Centers on West Central as well as some restaurants in Albuquerque.
The interior remodel at Champ’s includes the addition of a 15-foot “video wall,” where football games will be shown. Though Champ’s, which Bhakta said originally opened in the 1990s, was known as a haven for Denver Broncos fans — and though Bhakta himself is a Broncos fan — the new Champ’s will be a hangout for fans of the Kansas City Chiefs.
“I’m no dummy,” he said with a laugh. “I know what’s right and what’s wrong now. It’s a Chiefs bar.”
Bhakta and Bradley also plan to upgrade the menu, but for now they’re serving basic bar food like jumbo wings, burgers, quesadillas and big tacos. They’ll likely expand the menu once they have some time to learn what their customers want, Bhakta said.
The bar will continue to offer karaoke Thursday through Saturday nights. It also has five new pool tables, and Bhakta said he plans to get pool leagues going again.
Although it opens on Wednesday, the bar will celebrate its grand opening with a big Halloween party on Oct. 31, Bhakta said.
One other change: The old Champ’s was a 21-and-over bar, Bhakta said, but the new Champ’s will allow people under 21 in to dine until 7 p.m. daily.
The hours starting Wednesday will be 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
This story was originally published October 19, 2020 at 1:31 PM.
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