A Wichita bar emerges from its long COVID-19 shutdown as another popular business closes
One of Wichita’s favorite places to sip martinis is coming out of a months-long COVID-19 hibernation this week at the same time that one of Wichita’s favorite places to shop for coffee and spices is temporarily closing.
Mort’s, the popular martini bar and nightlife venue at 923 E. First St., has been closed since before Thanksgiving, when owners decided that COVID-19 numbers in the community were too high to continue operating safely. Since then, the bar has been faithfully selling cocktails to go, but Mort’s has been dark for almost 12 weeks.
The Old Town bar is set to reopen on Tuesday of this week, though. Its hours will be 3 p.m. to midnight Mondays through Thursdays, noon to midnight Fridays and Saturdays, and noon to 11 p.m. Sundays.
Live music will resume once the bar opens, but owner Emma Russell said that Mort’s will stick with smaller musical acts for the foreseeable future.
The bar also plans to continue offering cocktails to go as long as possible. This was the second prolonged COVID-19 shutdown for Mort’s, which also closed from late June until early September.
Meanwhile, fans of The Spice Merchant’s addictive coffee and large assortment of spices and gifts should know that the store at 1300 E. Douglas is closed “until further notice.”
Owner Bob Boewe said that a couple of employees tested positive for COVID-19, and he decided that, for safety’s sake, he should close the store. It’s been closed since the end of business on Friday.
He hopes to have it reopened by Monday of next week but he notes that people can also place mail orders online at spicemerchant.com/shop. Orders are a bit backed up at the moment, though, and might not make it out before the store reopens.
This story was originally published February 8, 2021 at 11:07 AM.
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