Chicago-style fare will be on the menu at this new monthly ‘pop-up’ restaurant in Wichita
Their food truck kitchen just isn’t big enough for them to prepare all the Chicago-style specialties they want to — including deep dish pizza. So Liz and Brian Bathgate are still looking for a brick-and-mortar space where they can once again operate a stationary version of their food truck, Big B’s Beef — and they hope to have it done within the year.
In the meantime, the Bathgates have found the next best option. And although it won’t afford them any additional kitchen space, it will give their fans the ability to enjoy the truck’s Italian beef sandwiches in a comfortable, restaurant setting.
The Bathgates have just made an agreement with the owners of an event venue called The District on Commerce to put on a pop-up restaurant there once a month. Their first outing will be on Friday, April 23, and then the truck will return and take over the venue on the third Friday of each month.
The venue, which is at 420 S. Commerce near Intrust Bank Arena, is for weddings, showers and meetings and includes a large event area furnished with vintage restaurant booths and leather couches.
Crissy Peppard first opened the venue just before the COVID-19 pandemic started and intended to use it as a co-working space. Now, she’s shifted it to more of an event venue and said she’s hoping other restaurateurs and chefs will take advantage of the space for food events and cooking classes.
People who visit on a night Big B’s Beef is there will be able to order their food at the truck, find a space inside the venue or on its big back patio and then have their food delivered to them. Shaken or Stirred Bartending will also be there selling beer and mixed drinks, giving the space even more of a restaurant vibe.
“It just makes it perfect,” Liz Bathgate said. “It just works really well for people.”
The first event will happen from 5 to 9 p.m. on Friday, April 23.
The Bathgates, both born and raised in the Chicago area, opened their Big B’s Beef food truck in July and were welcomed back by fans who’d first grown to love their Chicago-style sandwiches, Chicago dogs and fries when Big B’s Beef was a restaurant at 905 W. Douglas. It lasted there from December of 2013 until August of 2014, when the couple decided they needed to focus on raising their young kids.
Now, those kids are older, so the Bathgates decided to revive their business. Their ultimate goal is to open another stationary restaurant but they’re trying to “ease back into it.”
“We’re looking into spots,” Liz said. “But we have customers that come from everywhere so we want to be somewhere that everyone can get to.”
This story was originally published April 13, 2021 at 11:40 AM.
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