Two Wichita-area restaurants close — one after 27 years, the other after six months
The Wichita area has just lost two restaurants — one that’s been around for a while and one that hasn’t.
Over the weekend, the owner of Talliano’s Pizzeria at 408 N. Baltimore in Derby announced on social media that the restaurant would be closing its doors after 27 years. Owner Janet Talley said she planned to close the restaurant at the end of the day Sunday, but once word got out about the closing, she was overrun with business and decided Saturday would be the last day.
The buffet pizza restaurant was founded in Derby in 1994 by Greg Talley, a longtime Godfather’s employee who decided he wanted to do his own thing. It was a hit in Derby, so in 2002, Talley opened a Wichita restaurant at 8404 W. 13th Street along with partners Curt White and Frank Key.
Talley died from cancer in 2009 at age 50, and Key closed the Wichita restaurant in 2013. Ziggy’s Pizza operates in the space today.
In her post on Saturday, Greg Talley’s widow, Janet, said she was ready to retire. She expressed gratitude to customers and staff and signed the post with her own name and that of her late husband.
“I am extremely humbled that we have been able to succeed for as long as we have,” she wrote.
Back in Wichita, another restaurant also had its last day on Saturday.
Billy Wood says he has closed his Town & Country Classic, which he opened in July at K-42 and Maize Road. The main culprits, he said, were a slow economy and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’ll see what happens in the future,” he said, adding that he hadn’t completely ruled out reopening if the pandemic improves.
Wood had been a faithful customer of Town & Country when it operated at 4702 W. Kellogg and stepped in to reopen it after the death of longtime owner Larry Conover in March of last year.
His initial plan had been to reopen in the original building on West Kellogg, but he couldn’t come to an agreement with the landlords and found a different space on the south side of town.
After Wood’s restaurant opened, another group took over the Kellogg building and reopened it in October as Town & Country.
This story was originally published January 19, 2021 at 12:57 PM.
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