Wichita’s fourth Church’s Chicken set to open on the west side this spring
As Church’s Chicken franchisee Mike Jizzini waits and waits (and waits) on delayed equipment he needs to open his otherwise completed new restaurant at Pawnee and Broadway, he’s ready to share news about where he’ll open his next one.
Jizzini, who has two already operating Church’s restaurants — at 4780 E. 13th and at 3824 E. Harry — said that his fourth Wichita restaurant should open next spring near Central and West Street in Wichita.
He’s purchased a lot in the Plaza West Shopping Center that sits just to the south of the Wendy’s there. The lot is currently occupied by parking spaces.
The new restaurant will look different than the ones Jizzini has already built. It will be one of the chain’s new “Blaze” models, which has more brick on the exterior, a flat roof line and a smaller dining room. The focus of the new restaurants are the drive-throughs.
He hopes to have the West Street restaurant open by May, he said.
Meanwhile, the delay he’s facing at Pawnee and Broadway continues and now he’s thinking it might be late November before he can open it.
The problem: The display cases that keep the chicken warm at the front of the restaurants are on back order, and Jizzini isn’t hopeful he’ll get his for at least another month. The restaurant is otherwise finished and ready to go and has been for several weeks, Jizinni said.
He expects to break ground on West Street about the same time he opens Pawnee and Broadway.
Jizzini, an engineer and longtime fan of Church’s chicken, announced in 2017 his plan to revive the chain in Wichita — two years after the five remaining Church’s restaurants in Wichita closed suddenly with no explanation.
He opened his first restaurant in new construction at 13th and Oliver in November 2018 to long lines and big crowds. His second, in new construction at 3824 E. Harry, opened in January of this year.
Jizzini said he is considering at least one more Church’s for Wichita and is aiming for the east side. He’s targeted Rock Road or the 21st and Greenwich area as his ideal spots.
I’ll keep you posted on the progress on both of the yet-to-open Church’s in Wichita.
This story was originally published October 25, 2021 at 12:50 PM.
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