Black-owned restaurants, both past and present, have enhanced Wichita’s flavor
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Black foodies helped build Wichita’s food scene. These entrepreneurs are leading the city into its dining future.
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Throughout Wichita’s 150-year history, its Black residents have contributed much to the flavor of the city.
Among those contributions have been a long line of restaurants serving up all kinds of food, from barbecue to soul food to diner fare to fine dining.
Black History Month is a good time to look back on some of Wichita’s favorite Black-owned restaurants from the past — and to celebrate some that are thriving today.
Here’s are a few of the best-known Black-owned restaurants from Wichita’s past and present:
Adams Barbecue — 1949
Jerome Adams, a longtime teacher at Dunbar Elementary School, opened his barbecue restaurant on the southwest corner of 17th and Hydraulic in 1949 and he ran it with the help of his family until his death in 1970. Retired Wichita architect Charles McAfee said that Adams was his fifth-grade teacher and remembers that the restaurant was mostly a carryout place.
“There were a couple of seats at the counter, and if he knew you well, he might let you eat there,” McAfee said with a laugh.
Adams and his wife, Helen, made all of the barbecue sauces themselves, and the restaurant became a popular lunch stop for local businessmen, even though it was open only Thursdays through Sundays. After Adams’ death, his employee Charles Ray ran the restaurant, but in 1976, he left to open R&S Barbecue at 1918 E. 13th St. Helen, Jerome’s widow, resumed managing the restaurant but soon turned it over to Jim and Rennie Williams, who ran it until the mid-1980s, says the Williams’ grandson, Gary. Jim also owned Jim’s Speedway Barbecue at 2238 N. Amidon as well as barbecue stands at 81 Speedway and Jim Palmer Auction. He kept the Adams name, Gary said, but he introduced his own special seasonings and sauces, which people still talk about today.
Auntie Sweet’s Bar-B-Que — 1956
Mathilda Dunbar was born in 1910 in Woodville, Mississippi, but in the 1950s, she opened her own little restaurant at 1019 E. Murdock and called it Auntie Sweet’s Bar-B-Que. It sold soul food like fried chicken and chitterlings as well as barbecue topped with Dunbar’s secret homemade sauce. The restaurant and was known to attract people from all ethnic backgrounds.
Dunbar, who would often work 16 hours a day, six days a week, served things like beef brisket, ribs, bologna, hotlinks and ham and also made her own breakfast sausage and mini fruit pies in-house. Regulars remember that the restaurant had a jukebox filled wit popular R&B songs and that Dunbar loved the blues, especially B.B. King. The restaurant appeared to last through the early- to mid-1990s, and Dunbar died in 1993.
Rudy’s BBQ — 1965
Rudy Nicholson’s popular barbecue restaurant opened in 1965 at 2404 E. Ninth St., and for 36 years it was the place to go in town for take-out ribs, hot link sandwiches and barbecue beef. In the restaurant’s later days, it was particularly popular with local car dealerships, whose managers would get big takeout orders to reward salesmen for a good week.
Nicholson grew up in Oklahoma and as a kid he’d deliver wood to a local barbecue cook. If the cook was busy, he’d ask Nicholson to tend to the meat, and that’s how he learned. He would go on to borrow $2,000 from friends to buy an old filling station for his restaurant then pay the loan back at $50 a month.
At the end of 2001, he closed the restaurant, which his wife, Ruth, had tended to for years while he ran his other business, Nicholson Motors at 13th and Hydraulic. At that time, Rudy’s was one of the longest-running Black-owned businesses in town. Nicholson died of lung cancer in 2005. He was 88.
Bill’s Le Gourmet — 1970
In 1970, jazz aficionado and cook Bill Reaves opened a 70-seat restaurant at 540 S. Oliver, and today, it’s remembered as much for its Sunday-night jam sessions as for its fine-dining menu. The restaurant drew a crowd who loved Reaves’ signature Steak Diane, which he would serve flaming from a cart he rolled up to the tables. His menu also included things like filet of sole and tournedos of beef.
Reaves was also a skilled pianist, and well-known jazz musicians passing through town would take him up on invitations to stop and play. Jazz artist Jay McShann’s album “Man from Muskogee” was famously recorded at Bill’s Le Gourmet; and its house band, The Johnny Harris Quartet, was also a big draw.
The restaurant stayed open through 1978, and Reaves would go on to open a second restaurant called French Quarter. But it lasted only two years. Reaves died in 1985, but his son — well-known chef Anthony Card — carries on his father’s restaurant legacy.
Miller’s Bar-B-Que — 1992
In 1992, Larry and Melody Miller turned their popular catering and concession business into a barbecue stand at 13th and Oliver, and it was an instant hit. Within a few weeks, they had more customers than they could manage.
Larry, a former electronics salesman, and Melody, a high school history teacher, used their personal savings to start the restaurant, and they specialized in smoked brisket, sliced pork, pork spareribs, hotlinks and chicken. The restaurant eventually expanded into a 150 seat restaurant when it took over a former Hardee’s building at 4601 E. 13th.
Miller’s was a local favorite that also became known for its baked beans, which the restaurant eventually started selling packaged to local grocery stores.
Melody also had a career in politics, serving as a county commissioner and being elected to the Kansas House, where she served from 2005 to 2012.
In 2005, she and Larry were involved in a rollover car accident when they was headed to Topeka for the start of the legislative session and hit icy roads. Larry injured his neck in the accident and later died. A month later, Melody decided to close the restaurant but continued on with the retail bean business, which is still going today.
Mama Love’s Kitchen — 1998
Ahnawake “Mama” Love, the matriarch of the well-known Love family that includes musician Rudy, fulfilled her dream of opening a soul food restaurant in Old Town in 1998, and it was immediately popular.
The restaurant, which was at 242 N. Mosley, didn’t have a menu — just a chalkboard listing specials prepared from recipes Love had been using for years at her own Sunday dinners. Choices often included dishes like Salisbury steak, catfish, barbecued brisket, fried chicken, collard greens, black eyed peas, mashed potatoes and sweet potato pie. Her cornbread, which was more like cake, was a must-have.
The restaurant was often staffed by her huge brood of children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. but it lasted for only a couple of years.
Restaurant 155 — 2000
Anthony Card grew up working for his father, Bill Reaves, at the above-mentioned Bill’s Le Gourmet and went on to become a chef in his own right. After living and cooking in San Francisco for seven years, he returned to Wichita and cooked for the Greyhound Park, several country clubs and Larkspur. Then, in 2000, he and some partners opened a fine-dining restaurant called Restaurant 155 in the former Lassen Hotel at 155 N. Market.
The restaurant served high-end dishes, including beef Wellington, prawns Dijonnaise and Card’s father’s famous Steak Diane. It lasted until 2003, when Card had a falling out with his partners. He moved to Tulsa in 2005 and operated restaurants there.
But Card recently returned to Wichita and announced plans to open another restaurant here when the time is right.
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Black-owned restaurants you can support today
Wichita is home to several Black-owned restaurants in 2021. Among them:
B.C.’s Kitchen, 1412 E. Ninth Street: This is a soul food restaurant that’s been open almost a year and specializes in catfish, oxtail, turkey wings and more.
Brint’s Diner, 4834 E. Lincoln: The newest owners of this historic Valentine diner focus on soul food and offer vegan fare once a month.
Fish and More, 2021 S. Oliver: This restaurant sells chicken wings, catfish, ribs, shrimp and more.
Jenny Dawn Cellars, 703 Douglas: Longtime winemaker Jennifer McDonald opened this “urban winery” last year and it now offers frequent wine tastings, wine classes and live jazz.
Ray’s Food Express, 1542 E 61st St North: Aubrey Ray Banks opened this business as a food truck in July, and he just expanded it into a bricks and mortar restaurant at 1542 E. 61st St. North.
Wichita Subs & More, 2251 E. 21st St. Sisters Donial Fayson and Desiree Ellison opened this sandwich shop specializing in Philly cheesesteaks in October.
This story was originally published February 19, 2021 at 8:42 AM.
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