Smoothie King is no more in Wichita, but that’s not the end of the story

Local fans of Smoothie King might have noticed that the three stores in Wichita and the one in Derby suddenly closed earlier this week.

The signs are all gone, and Wichita no longer is listed on the Smoothie King website as having any local stores.

But the Smoothie King spaces won’t be vacant for long. They’re now being morphed into a new concept called Rind & Grind, and two of them are already up and running.

The former Smoothie Kings at 8000 W. Central in Wichita and at 1816 E. Madison Ave. in Derby have already reopened and are serving a menu of smoothies, coffee drinks and fresh-squeezed limeades and lemonades, said the manager of the Derby store.

I drove by the West Central location today and found new signage and a lobby under construction. But the drive-through was up and running.

The stores in Union Station, 711 E. Douglas, and at 3236 N. Rock Road will soon follow suit and become Rind & Grinds, the manager said.

The Smoothie King stores closed after the Dallas-based franchise ended its licensing agreement with the local franchisee, she said.

I reached franchisee Neil Bhakta today, but he said he could not discuss details and referred me to his Kansas City-based lawyer. I’ve left a message for him and will update this story if I get a response.

Bhakta opened Wichita’s first Smoothie King at 552 N. Ridge Road in 2001. He opened his most recent store in Derby in 2017.

This story was originally published November 12, 2020 at 1:37 PM.

Denise Neil

The Wichita Eagle

316-268-6327

Denise Neil has covered restaurants and entertainment since 1997. Her Dining with Denise Facebook page is the go-to place for diners to get information about local restaurants. She’s a regular judge at local food competitions and speaks to groups all over Wichita about dining.