Dining With Denise Neil

Two Wichita restaurants announce plans to close for the winter as COVID-19 slows business

Two Wichita restaurants have announced that they’ll close for the winter as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on business.

Both Little Lion Cafe at 2721 E. Central and Sorrel’s Jamaican Food at 222 S. Commerce are “hibernating” for the winter, as Little Lion’s owners described it in their Sunday Facebook post.

Little Lion Cafe at Revolutsia will close for the winter as the pandemic rages locally.
Little Lion Cafe at Revolutsia will close for the winter as the pandemic rages locally. Denise Neil The Wichita Eagle

“We are shutting down, hoping we can come back with the kind of energy and service that we so love to give you,” Little Lion’s post read. “This has been a crazy year, and heading into our slowest season, it’s apparent that the toll of the pandemic is too much for us to keep on bearing this way.”

Little Lion, which opened in the tiny historic building at the front of the Revolutsia shipping container mall in July 2018, will be closed Monday through Friday of this week then open Saturday and Sunday so that customers can stock up. After that, it will close.

Sorrel and Christine Rhoden have closed their Jamaican restaurant for the winter because of COVID-19.
Sorrel and Christine Rhoden have closed their Jamaican restaurant for the winter because of COVID-19. Denise Neil The Wichita Eagle

Meanwhile, Sorrel’s owners say they’ll be closed until spring “due to the lack of business caused by this pandemic.” That restaurant initially opened in 2017 and moved spaces a couple of times before settling in an Intrust Bank Arena-adjacent space in November 2019. Their final day open for now was Sunday.

Due to the lack of business caused by this pandemic we will be temporarily close until Spring THIS WILL be our last...

Posted by Sorrel's Jamaican Food LLC on Friday, December 4, 2020

The temporary closings are the latest in a long list of adjustments local restaurants and bars have been announcing as the pandemic worsens locally. A few others, including Mort’s and The Petroleum Club, have closed temporarily, while others have cut hours or days of the week off their schedules.

You can keep abreast of all the changes and closings each week at Dining with Denise on Facebook.

This story was originally published December 7, 2020 at 9:42 AM.

Denise Neil
The Wichita Eagle
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.
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