Vacant Wichita auto shop getting new life as retail center that includes a restaurant
A vacant auto shop near 21st and Amidon has just been purchased and is about to be transformed into a retail strip center that already has two tenants signed up — including a restaurant.
Vibe Restaurants, a group out of Dallas that owns 79 Little Caesars stores across nine states and also operates Wichita’s two Wingstop restaurants, has purchased the building and soon will start its transformation, said Levi Iseman of InSite Real Estate Group.
When complete, the 8,500 square-foot center will have space for three businesses, and two of those spaces are already leased. Another Wingstop will take over 2,100 square feet on the east end, and a high-tech laundromat out of Iowa called Clean Laundry will move into a 4,400 square-foot space on the other end.
That leaves one vacancy — a 2,000 square-foot space in the center that Iseman says the new owners hope to lease to a financial or medical business of some kind, though they’d consider a restaurant.
Iseman represented the buyers in the deal.
The deal is special, said InSite’s Dan Unruh, because it will give use to an empty building “in an area of town that has been overlooked but has recently been transformed and is getting new life.” The building sits on the south side of 21st, next to Domino’s Pizza and across the street from Arby’s. Most recently, the space was home to an auto shop called My Mechanic’s.
The building sits west of the intersection of 21st and Amidon, which in recent years has seen the addition of a CVS Pharmacy and a new Chipotle.
The new owners plan to gut the interior of the building and clean up its face, Unruh said. Construction will start right away.
Wingstop, a mostly carryout chicken wing business that also has dining space inside, could be ready to open in late summer, Iseman said. The other two Wingstop restaurants in Wichita are at 7325 W. Taft and at 2548 S. Seneca, which opened in August. They specialize in chicken wings, chicken tenders and fresh-cut fries.
Clean Laundry offers modern, high-tech laundromats that Iseman jokingly referred to as “the QuikTrip of laundromats.” They’re known for their cleanliness and safety
“It’s not your typical laundromat,” he said. “Their technology is vastly superior to anything in the market today. The comfort available to the customers is second-to-none.”
Both Wingstop and Clean Laundry plan to open more stores in the Wichita area, Unruh said.
This story was originally published April 1, 2021 at 12:49 PM.
.jpg)