Why was the Taco Pronto building on West Central torn down? Leasing agent shares plans
Wichita taco burger fans were sad in September to learn that the Taco Pronto at 7333 W. Central had closed, leaving just the one remaining restaurant at 8385 W. 21st St.
Knowing a restaurant is closed and seeing the building being demolished, though, are two different things, and many readers expressed alarm when they noticed it being dismantled earlier this week. Today, there’s just a dirt pad where the building stood last week.
Now, they’re wondering if the building was taken down so it could be replaced with something else, but that’s not the case, said Zachary Zerbe of Landmark Commercial Real Estate, the leasing agent for the Central Heights Shopping Center at Central and Ridge that also includes Ollie’s, a bargain outlet that opened last year in the onetime Hobby Lobby space, as well as a new Dollar Tree.
When Taco Pronto decided to leave the building, Zerbe said, it presented an opportunity to create more visibility for the shopping center’s north side, which was obscured by the restaurant building in front of it.
“We have had multiple national users vet the north side spaces,” he said. “A common theme in their feedback was lack of visibility and parking,” he said. “With the addition of Ollie’s and Dollar Tree, the Central Heights Shopping Center is getting some new life. If we are going to continue to attract high caliber tenants, we needed to change the dynamics of the center.”
Zerbe said he’d keep me posted about any additions at the center, but they won’t be on the Taco Pronto spot.
This story was originally published January 21, 2022 at 12:25 PM.
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