Popular Wichita barbecue restaurant seized by the state will reopen, owner says
A longtime Wichita barbecue restaurant that was seized earlier this month over nearly $100,000 in unpaid taxes will reopen on Tuesday.
Derek Cochran, the owner of Pig In Pig Out at 1003 E. 13th St., said on Monday that he didn’t want to get into too much detail about what led to the March 10 seizure by the Kansas Department of Revenue other than to say that a “misstep” occurred.
“I don’t want to say a lot because I’m not one for excuses,” he said.
The restaurant will resume business as usual on Tuesday at 11 a.m. he said.
A spokesperson for the Kansas Department of Revenue said on Monday that the restaurant had reached a payment agreement with the department and that it would be allowed to reopen.
I am able to confirm that the owners of Pig In Pig Out have reached a payment agreement with the department and have been allowed to reopen.
Cochran said he was touched by the outpouring of support from his longtime customers and friends. One of them, former employee Brooke Scherer, even launched an online fundraiser that brought in $3,600.
“I was a little surprised,” he said. “I’ve always felt like we’ve had a good following in Wichita, but I felt like our supporters really showed a lot of compassion and concern.”
Pig In Pig Out has been open since 1996 and was started by Cochran’s father, Ronald, a longtime competitor on the barbecue cookoff circuit. Ronald died in 2001 and Derek took over and in 2004 moved it from its tiny, six-seat space at 1935 S. Hydraulic to a much larger building at 13th and Washington.
Pig In Pig Out was the second Wichita business seized by the Kansas Department of Revenue in recent weeks. Mexican grocery store Carniceria El Guero at 2920 W. Central also was taken over and closed over $29,000 in unpaid back taxes, but the owners settled their debt last week, and the store has since reopened.
This story was originally published March 21, 2022 at 10:18 AM.
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