South Wichita gets a restaurant ‘no one else in Wichita has,’ grand opening is Saturday
There’s a new restaurant on South Seneca that serves teeny tiny taco burgers, itty bitty chicken sandwiches and little baby burgers, and this weekend, it’s celebrating its grand opening with a big special.
Slider Shak, which quietly opened about three weeks ago in the former Sweet Willie’s BBQ spot at 4628 S. Seneca, has been doing more business every day and has been better received than owners expected, said Madison Bauer, a spokesperson for the restaurant and the sister of its co-founder, Matt Bauer. It specializes in slider-sized versions of several types of sandwiches, including cheeseburgers, taco burgers and sliders filled with meatballs, pulled pork, grilled pork, spicy fried chicken, grilled chicken and more.
When it celebrates its grand opening on Saturday, Slider Shak will be offering $1 cheeseburger sliders, limit five, and will allow customers who order a combo meal to add an extra slider of their choice. Kids meals will also be buy-one-get-one half off. (Single sliders are normally $1.49 apiece.)
I stopped by late last week to try out some of the sliders and was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked them. My favorite was the cheeseburger slider, which had a flavorful patty that tasted like it’d been seared on a well-seasoned grill. I also liked the spicy fried chicken, which was slathered with a layer of hot sauce and dressed with pickles. The sandwiches were just the right size that an average diner could sample two or three.
The restaurant also offers crispy fries (be sure to ask for the “shakcrack sauce” on the side), which can be ordered “loaded” with cheese, bacon and meat, as well as mac and cheese and homemade baked beans. The owners are considering adding milkshakes to the menu as well.
The building itself is no frills, both outside and in. The owners have added some walls as well as some basic burger joint booths and tables inside the small dining room. There’s a drive-through window but no speaker system yet, but people who pull up to the window can place their orders there.
It was almost a year ago when I first reported about plans for Slider Shak, whose owners originally intended to take over the former Coney Island Hot Weiners space on West Douglas in Delano. But a couple of months later, they pulled out of their lease, saying they weren’t ready to open a new business amid the uncertainties of COVID-19. In the fall, they found the South Seneca spot.
Madison Bauer said that the concept has taken off on the south side and that the owners have had only good feedback from the neighborhood. People have especially loved the restaurant’s “Taco Burger Tuesday” deal, which offers $1 taco burger sliders, limit five, once a week.
“The south side now has something no one else in Wichita has, and that’s unusual,” she said. “Everyone on the south side has been very supportive, and people are happy that the building is occupied.
Slider Shak’s hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. For more information, call 316-352-7486.
This story was originally published April 5, 2021 at 11:31 AM.
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