Wichita’s Central Standard finds spot for a second location, but it’s a year or two out
At the moment, it’s an overgrown lot dotted with several old industrial buildings.
But in a year or two, a two-acre piece of property on North Millwood in Delano will be home to a second Wichita location of Central Standard Brewing.
Owners Andy and Emily Boyd, Ian and Sumer Crane, and Nathan and Liz Jackel recently closed on the property at First and Millwood, which is bordered by Millwood on the west and by train tracks on the east. The space is roughly a block northeast of The Shamrock Lounge at 1724 W. Douglas, and it includes a giant warehouse building, a 1930s-era stone building and an office building. Also on the property are two old red railway cars.
The owners haven’t started drawing up plans yet, and they say they aren’t exactly sure how they’ll set the new business up — or even what they’ll call it. They’re not in a big rush, they said.
What they are sure about is that the property will include a larger production facility where they can spread out and make more beer. Their popular but smaller location at 156 N. Greenwood, which they opened with a tap room in August 2015, just isn’t big enough anymore.
“Right now, we can’t even keep up with the demand in Wichita,” Boyd said, adding that a larger production facility could allow Central Standard to start selling beer across the state.
The owners said that they loved the Delano property, which used to belong to Bradley Machine, mostly because of the mature elm and cottonwood trees and leafy canopy it contained. They envision a beer garden in a forest-type setting.
They’ve long wanted to expand and always had the growing Delano neighborhood in mind, they said. The spot they found has the same neighborhood feel as their current location.
“We were kind of focused on Delano,” Boyd said. “We could have done really well going way east or west. But we kind of feel like it’s more our vibe focusing on the core of the city.”
The new property will have a tap room, and the owners have lots of other ideas for it, too. They may use some of the existing buildings to create incubator spaces for budding businesses, sort of like Janelle King does at The Workroom at 150 N. Cleveland. They may use one of the old train cars for a stage for live music.
The original Central Standard space will remain open, and the brewhouse there will continue to operate once the new place is ready to go, Crane said, though it may become more focused on producing experimental beers.
The owners promised updates as they finalize their plans for their Delano location, so stay tuned.
This story was originally published June 8, 2022 at 5:23 AM.
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