Wichita Mexican restaurant upgrading to bigger space in new Nomar District strip center
There’s a new strip center at the corner of 21st and Broadway in Wichita, and one of the spaces in the L-shaped development will be filled by a familiar Mexican restaurant that’s moving and expanding.
Jose Gandara, who with his wife, Yuliana, owns La Isla at 1935 N. Broadway, is planning to move the business to the Old New Market Place, which is on the southwest corner of 21st and Broadway, right across the street from NoMar International Market.
But the new development, which was built by Oakridge Remodeling’s Romaldo Lopez, isn’t quite finished. Significant construction delays have slowed down the opening, which Romaldo initially hoped would happen last spring. The main problem: The shipment of the electrical supplies needed to finish the center keeps getting delayed.
Gandara, whose restaurant specializes in Mexican seafood dishes like ceviche, aguachiles, oysters on the half shell and shrimp cocktail, has already put up his sign at 21st and Broadway but said he’s now hearing that it may be March before he can move into the space, which will give the restaurant double the seating it has now. He plans to keep the original restaurant at 1935 N. Broadway operating until it’s time to move, he said.
So far, said the leasing agent for Old New Market Place, La Isla is the only restaurant moving in, though some have wondered if there will be two. Another sign posted at the strip center reads El Vaquero, which is the name of a restaurant that operated at 1320 E. Central from 2018 until 2020, when new owners took over and changed the name to El Mariachi. (That restaurant has also since closed, and now a second-hand furniture store called Sumthing for Everybody Furniture operates out of the space on East Central.)
But the El Vaquero opening at Old New Marketplace will not be a restaurant: It’ll be the new location of a men’s clothing store that’s currently operating at 808 W. 25th. (El Vaquero translates to “The Cowboy.”)
The center also has several other tenants lined up, including RG Fashion Closet, which sells clothing for men and women, and Head Gear, which will be an embroidery and print shop. The center is anchored by a Metro by T-Mobile store.
Gandara and his wife first opened at 1935 N. Broadway in April 2015, and the restaurant has grown in popularity since. They opened a second location in 2016 at 784 N. West St., taking over when Emilia’s Family Restaurant and Pie Shop went out of business after 30 years. But it closed after about a year.
The original location, though, is as busy as ever, he said, and a group of friends that always includes 10 to 20 people dine there up to twice a week in the summer. The current space, which seats only 30, just isn’t big enough, Gandara said. He’ll be able to seat 50 to 60 in the new place.
“The other place will be more spacious,” he said. “It’s a nicer place, a bigger place... I have a lot of faith we are going to be doing well out there.”
Gandara said he’d update me when he had a date for the move.
This story was originally published February 7, 2022 at 12:42 PM.
.jpg)