A 19-year-old on college hiatus buys dessert shop from beleaguered Wichita city councilman
The little cookie dough shop that opened two years ago in Clifton Square has a new owner, and she’s celebrating its grand-reopening this weekend.
Delica Ewert, a 19-year-old who’s taking a break from McPherson College while she ponders a new major, this week bought The No Bake Cafe from Wichita City Council member James Clendenin and his wife, Amie.
They closed on the deal on Monday, Ewert said.
“We were offered this place, and I was really interested,” Ewert said. “I’ve been wanting to own my own business forever.”
Ewert was a cheerleader and an elementary education major at McPherson College when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. As she watched schools across the country going online, she decided that wasn’t what she wanted to do, she said. So Ewert, who was in the first semester of her sophomore year, decided to take a break and reevaluate.
So far, she’s repainted and redecorated the tiny shop, which sits on the west side of Clifton Square and specializes in edible cookie dough. She’s reopened the lobby, which the Clendenins had closed, and has extended the hours. The cafe is now open from noon to 9 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, from noon to 10 p.m. Saturdays, and from noon to 4 p.m. Sundays.
Ewert said she hopes to launch a food truck this summer that will take her cookie dough across the city, and she wants to start shipping the product as well.
She’ll celebrate her grand opening from noon to 9 p.m. on Saturday.
The No Bake Cafe originally opened at 3700 E. Douglas in December 2018. The Clendenins bought it from owner Saxon Young in October of last year after Young injured himself in a scooter accident and was no longer able to run the business.
Clendenin has recently been under fire for his role in a 2019 political smear campaign and an attempted cover-up, and Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett late last month filed ouster proceedings against him.
This story was originally published December 11, 2020 at 11:57 AM.
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