Upscale Southern-inspired brunch restaurant opens next week on Wichita’s northeast side
Jeremy Wade says he’s surprised Wichita doesn’t have more Southern food.
Next week, though, he aims to fill the gap when he opens his new Magnolia Cafe — a Southern-inspired breakfast, brunch and lunch restaurant that has taken over the former Fred & Barney’s/Sweet Basil spot at 2424 N. Woodlawn.
Opening day is Tuesday, May 10.
Wade, a well-known Wichita chef who also owns the Italian restaurant Napoli at 7718 E. 37th St. North, will open Magnolia Cafe from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fridays, and from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
His just-finished menu, which you can see below, features a big brunch section with Southern dishes like chicken and waffles, pork belly hash, shrimp and grits and eggs “Pontchartrain,” which features fried oysters on toasted English muffins topped with poached eggs and tasso hollandaise.
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Those who prefer more lunch-y fare can choose from a list of soups and salads plus sandwiches including a fried oyster po’ boy and a Nashville hot chicken sandwich. Visitors also can order shared starters like scratch biscuits served with strawberry/rhubarb preserves, horseradish deviled eggs, or fried green tomatoes.
The restaurant also will have a full bar that features a list of craft cocktails, plus beer, wine and espresso drinks. Wade is considering offering a happy hour from 6 to 8 a.m. that would appeal to third-shift workers.
Wade and his crew have freshened up the building, which was just remodeled when Tracy Fahrbach and Kevin Brown opened it as Fred & Barney’s in November 2020. That restaurant closed in October.
Since then, Wade has lightened the walls, recovered the banquettes, added new tables and chairs and decorated the restaurant with Southern farmhouse art, much of it made by the artists at the Envision Arts Gallery.
The restaurant will seat about 86 inside, and a large patio on the restaurant’s north side will seat another 60. Magnolia Cafe will accept reservations.
Though the restaurant will focus on breakfast, brunch and lunch, Wade is planning to eventually open a few evenings a week offering Southern-themed dinners. The space also will be available for private parties and events during the evening hours, when the restaurant is closed.
Wade said that he initially took over the space, which like the Napoli building is owned by Caro Development, as a place to stage private events. His customers had been requesting such a space, and Napoli lacks the room.
Eventually, he decided, that area of town could use a unique brunch option as well, and he plans to source many of his ingredients from local vendors like Chicken Track Eggs, Firefly Farms and From Seed to You. His coffee will be provided by Reverie Coffee Roasters, and he plans to serve pie from Peace Love and Pie.
“I’ve had a kind of rough menu that I’ve shown a lot of people at Napoli, and they’re excited about it,” Wade said. “We’re a step above most breakfast places, and I think it’s unique enough. And we’re in a location where we can, I think, do pretty well.”
Wade has hired local restaurant veteran James Silveous to run the front of the house, and Chef Brandon Runkel just relocated to Wichita from Charlotte, North Carolina, to lead the kitchen.
Wade decided to name the restaurant Magnolia Cafe in tribute to the popular Cajun restaurant of the same name that operated at the corner of Central and Woodlawn from 1986 until 1994. Wade’s late father, Lonnie, was a big fan of Magnolia Cafe and would always tell his chef son that he should revive the place.
Though the menus of the two restaurants are different, Wade said, the name was available and he decided to take it.
Magnolia Cafe menu
This story was originally published May 4, 2022 at 2:18 PM.
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