West Wichita will soon be home to a new wood-fired pizza restaurant with familiar owners
The old Kanai spot in west Wichita that was left vacant when the short-lived Lilikoi Asian Bistro closed in April 2021 is about to get a new tenant.
Bryce Kuhn and his wife, Toi — who own the 9-year-old Twelve Restaurant & Bar in the same strip center at 119th and Maple — have taken over the space and plan to open a new restaurant there called Maple Street Pizza Company. They hope to have it open in early to mid-August.
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The couple, who made “pizza night” a part of their routine back when they were first dating, had long been considering expanding, Bryce said, and people had approached him about opening another Twelve in east Wichita or as far away as Kansas City. But the couple never liked the idea of Bryce having to split his time across two restaurants so far apart.
When the Lilikoi space opened up, though, they saw an opportunity and began discussing the possibility of opening their own wood-oven pizza place.
“We decided it would be a lot of fun and liked that we could choose our neighbors and know that we’d be confident in the business going in there,” he said.
The Kuhns have been experimenting with recipes for months, Kuhn said, and have come up with a dough that’s fermented for 72 hours and results in a crust that has a “crispy, almost New York-style” bottom layer and a glossy “bone,” or edge crust. Toi, he said, has developed a “beautiful house red sauce” that works well with the dough.
They’ve mostly gutted the restaurant space, leaving only the bar, and they’re now waiting for their pizza oven to arrive. They’re planning a long banquette along the east wall in the restaurant as well as about five other four-top tables. Bryce said the restaurant will be able to seat 45 to 50 people.
Maple Street Pizza’s will offer a full bar and also will serve sangria and wine on tap plus local and regional craft beer and craft cocktails. It will be open for both lunch and dinner. Pizza toppings will range from traditional to more artisan pies, including a Thai Chicken pizza and a Cubano.
Bryce Kuhn originally opened Twelve in 2013, and it’s since become a favorite west-Wichita spot for high-end brunch plus steaks, seafood and chops.
This story was originally published May 27, 2022 at 5:03 AM.
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