A list of dining options Wichita won’t be getting until restaurants can find more staff
Wichita restaurants are having a hard time finding staff — to put it mildly. Every day lately, owners are posting help-wanted notices in their windows and on social media, and some have become so frustrated, they’ve started posting passive aggressive signs. (The sign outside the Spangles at Pawnee and Seneca, for example, currently reads: “Stimulus checks paid every 2 weeks. Open interviews.”)
All sorts of reasons have been offered for the shortage, which is affecting restaurants nationwide. Some restaurant owners say they believe that potential employees are too comfortable on unemployment and don’t want to return to work. Some restaurant workers say they’ve found jobs that pay better wages. Economic experts offer all sorts of explanations, from longtime restaurant workers leaving the industry during COVID-19 shutdowns to younger workers returning to school.
Whatever the reasons, the situation is somewhat dire. And it’s keeping some restaurant projects from moving forward in Wichita.
Below is a list of some of the dining options Wichita won’t be getting until restaurant owners are able to find more staff:
▪ Marchello’s can’t reopen for dine-in: This longtime Italian restaurant at 3107 S. Seneca closed for dine-in service during the COVID-19 pandemic and switched to a to-go only service model. Now, owner Mickey Afsharpour says he’d like to resume dine-in but can’t until he’s able to find some more staff.
Before the pandemic, he said, he had 23 people working and he kept his restaurant open seven days a week. Now, he has just a fraction of that number hustling to get to-go orders out the door, and he’s having no luck adding workers. He’s even started closing the restaurant on Sundays.
Recently, he said, a diner offered him $40 if he’d let him enjoy his meal in the restaurant, but Afsharpour said he had to turn him down.
“I even put up a sign for hiring, but no one is interested,” he said.
▪ Tacos TJ’s birria restaurant can’t open: The owners of Tacos tj 664, who earlier this year relocated their restaurant from an old Sonic on West Street to a bigger space at 1014 N. West St., are planning to open a new restaurant in the spot at 803 N. West St. that they vacated. It’ll be called Birria tj 664, and it will specialize in birria, a meat dish popular in the Mexican state of Jalisco that Tacos tj 664 has become known for.
They initially hoped to open in March. More recently, they thought they’d be able to open this week. But now — because they can’t find staff — they’re pushing opening day back to at least July, they said.
▪ Lilikoi Asian Bistro can’t add lunch: Greg Cook opened his Asian fusion restaurant in the former Kanai space at 12111 W. Maple back in December, serving dinner only.
Now, he says, he’s ready to add lunch service. He just can’t find the staff to make it happen.
“I struggle just to have enough staff to open for dinner,” Cook said. “I had to close for two weeks in the month of April because of not having enough people to work. I never thought staffing would be my biggest issue with owning my own restaurant.”
▪ Los Cunados still can’t open: This Mexican restaurant, which is taking over the old Bob & Luigi’s space at 4559 N. Woodlawn, is finished and ready to go, but owner Fernando Aguirre still hasn’t been able to open because he’s struggled to find staff for both the front and back of the house. He’s been trying to open since January.
Most recently, he said he’d hoped to be open for Cinco de Mayo and Mother’s Day. Now, he thinks he needs two more weeks.
Some of the many Wichita restaurants advertising for staff
Following is a list of some of the Wichita restaurants posting calls for workers on social media over the past week or so. Many are listing perks that come with the job, including paid vacation and free meals and treats on the side. Others are offering to hire people on the spot.
HuHot, 2035 N. Rock Road
Andy’s Frozen Custard, College Hill
Candle Club, 6135 E. 13th St.
Hibachi Boy, Derby and Wichita
Pizza Ranch, 2121 N. Tyler
Molino’s, 1064 N. Waco
Emerson Biggins Sports Bar & Grill, 2330 N. Maize Road
Los Cabos, 3827 W. 13th
Knolla’s Pizza, Central and Ridge, Maize Road
Town & Country, 4702 W. Kellogg
Gambino’s Pizza, 1520 S. Webb Road
Taco Tico, 1303 N. Tyler
Riverside Cafe, 739 W. 13th
Champs Bar & Grill, 1106 S. Seneca
This story was originally published May 13, 2021 at 12:17 PM.
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