A restaurant was torn down years ago to make way for a Braum’s. It’s finally happening.
It’s been almost five years since Wichita learned that Mexican restaurant El Rodeo at 5730 E. Central would be torn down to make way for a new Braum’s Ice Cream & Dairy Store.
Though the building on the site disappeared pretty quickly, the spot has sat vacant ever since, and people have assumed the deal was off.
But it isn’t — and never was, said Amanda Beuchaw, who works in public relations for the Oklahoma-based chain. Neighbors have recently noticed that the site is being cleared, and Beuchaw confirmed that a new Braum’s store will soon start going up there. She couldn’t say exactly when it would be open, though, as Braum’s is still working to secure the necessary permits and approvals for the build.
What took so long? Beuchaw said that it’s not unusual for Braum’s to purchase a piece of property and then wait a few years to actually start building on it. Back in 2018, for example, the chain finally started construction on a piece of land at Fox Ridge Plaza on Maize Road that it had purchased a year and a half earlier.
“We have been building and opening stores in Texas the last two years that were ahead of the Wichita location,” she said.
Real estate agents first told The Eagle about the deal with Braum’s back in November 2016. At the time, El Rodeo owner Christina Martinez expressed dismay about having to move the restaurant she had just purchased from the previous owners two months earlier but said she planned to open in a new spot in Carriage Parkway. The restaurant didn’t last much longer after making the move.
The building that once occupied the spot also had been home to Amarillo Mesquite Grill from 1994 until 2003, when El Rodeo took over.
This story was originally published April 22, 2021 at 11:42 AM.
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