Fire-damaged Wichita restaurant closed for past eight months has partially reopened
A Wichita Spangles restaurant that’s been closed since a fire last September has partially reopened.
The restaurant at 410 E. 47th St. South began serving customers through its drive-through on Tuesday, said Rene Steven, the local restaurant chain’s director of operations. It’s being staffed by employees from other local Spangles restaurants, and owners are now working to hire people to run the inside of the restaurant as well.
Once that’s done, the dining room — which was redone with a more modern look — will open as well. Steven said she didn’t anticipate it would be much longer.
The fire that closed down the restaurant happened overnight on Sept. 6. Fire officials say it started in the kitchen after oil- and grease-saturated rags were left in a plastic trash bin, and it sent smoke throughout the building, causing $225,000 in damage — a total loss.
The outside of the building appeared undamaged, which confused longtime customers, who wondered why it was closed. But the interior had to be gutted down to the studs.
Initially, Spangles owners said the dining room would be rebuilt free of the 1950s decor that has defined Spangles restaurants over the years. The restaurant’s Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe statues are back, but the rest of the dining room, done in black and maroon, looks more updated, Steven said.
Regulars of the restaurant have been calling for months, asking when they can return, she said.
“This was one of our older stores,” she said. “We’ve had customers coming here for a long time.”
This story was originally published May 3, 2022 at 11:57 AM.
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