Wichita barbecue restaurant that flourished during the pandemic adding 3 more locations
A small local barbecue restaurant business is about to start a big expansion that will result in at least two more restaurants in Wichita and another in Hutchinson.
Santiago Munoz, who owns The Angry Elephant at 756 N. Tyler Road, says he was approached by an investor who had two vacant Burger King restaurant buildings and was looking to fill them with a new concept.
Construction just started on the old Burger King space at 111 E 47th St. South, near 47th and Broadway, and a new Angry Elephant restaurant should be ready to go by November, Munoz said. The building will get a total renovation, inside and out, and it will be transformed into a sleek full-service bar and grill serving not only the barbecue items and over-the-top milkshakes The Angry Elephant has become known for but also a lineup of signature cocktails.
Once that restaurant is up and running, Munoz said, he and his investor then plan to give the old Burger King at 2801 N. Main in Hutchinson the same makeover.
And within the next six months or so, Munoz said, he also hopes to be able to announce plans for a high-end version of his restaurant on the east side of Wichita. He says it will be in the vein of Jack Stack Barbecue in Kansas City.
If all goes well, he said, he could even see franchising The Angry Elephant concept.
“We’ve got plans of expanding more once this works out,” he said. “We kind of get to design it so that if someone does like it and wants to see it in someplace like Oklahoma City or Emporia, we can give them that foundation.”
Munoz, who started smoking meats in his garage as a hobby when he worked at Textron, opened his first Angry Elephant restaurant in a small space at 2959 S. Hillside in the summer of 2017.
He developed a following, and in late 2019, he closed the original and relocated to the restaurant space attached to Augustino Brewing Co., where he’s been operating a full-service restaurant ever since.
That restaurant, which he will continue to operate, first opened a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic hit and earned a takeout following during shutdowns in early 2020 that translated into dine-in business once restaurants were able to reopen, he said.
“Corona either really destroyed a lot of businesses or uplifted a lot of businesses,” he said. “We were fortunate enough to stay blessed through that time and to stay busy. I couldn’t tell you why.”
Munoz’s biggest sellers have been his barbecue sandwich followed by a pick-two meal with brisket and pork. He’s also become well known for his crazy milkshakes, which are served in Mason jars and topped with a whole slice of cheesecake. Munoz said he plans to create even more crazy, gourmet versions of those milkshakes and hopes to partner with local bakers.
He will keep most of the menu that he’s had at Central and Tyler, but because he’ll have a more deluxe smoker at the new place, he will add things like smoked chicken breast, spare ribs and baby back ribs.
I’ll keep you posted on the progress at the new Angry Elephant restaurants.
This story was originally published August 2, 2021 at 11:45 AM.
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