Wichita diner adding second location in area owners say is in dire need of breakfast
New Neighbors — the reincarnation of the late Chuck Giles’ Neighbors Bar & Grill — has closed, but another Wichita diner owner will take the space over later this month.
Vance Davis, who is the general manager of Billy Wood’s Town & Country Classic restaurant at K-42 and Maize Road, says that Wood has signed a lease on the New Neighbors space and will put a second location of his restaurant there, one that will be called Town & Country Classic Too.
Davis said that Wood has wanted to expand his business to a busier area of town, and both men have always liked the corner of 21st and Amidon, which is lacking in breakfast options, Davis said. The owners of New Neighbors offered breakfast only on weekends, but Town & Country Too will offer it all day every day it’s open.
“There’s no other breakfast place around there to sit down and drink coffee and relax and talk, and that’s what we want to bring back,” said Davis, who used to refer to 21st and Amidon as “King’s X corner” when the famous diner used to operate there.
The restaurant should be open by the end of September, Davis said. The space just needs some cleaning and redecorating, and Davis plans to put on a silent auction closer to opening day to clear out some of the sports memorabilia now decorating the walls. Town & Country Classic has more of a classic-car theme.
The menu will be the same as the one at the original Town & Country Classic and will feature daily breakfast, blue plate specials, burgers and more. The restaurant serves many recipes made famous at the original Town & Country on West Kellogg, including fresh-baked bread and cinnamon rolls.
Town & Country Classic Too will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays.
Wood opened Town & Country Classic after the March 2020 death of Larry Conover, whose family had owned the restaurant at 4702 W. Kellogg since 1957. That restaurant closed at the start of the pandemic and never reopened.
With the family’s blessing, longtime customer and retired gas company worker Wood decided that he would take over Town & Country and run it in Larry’s honor. But he could not reach an agreement with the landlords on the longtime building on West Kellogg, so he found a new spot at K-42 and Maize Road. That restaurant has been operating since July of 2020.
Different owners took over the Town & Country space on West Kellogg and reopened it in October 2020, but it lasted only until August of last year. The building has been vacant and listed for lease ever since.
I’ve reached out to the owners of New Neighbors to inquire about their decision to close but have not yet heard back. Earlier in the week, a sign posted in the door announced that New Neighbors was closed until Sept. 1 for a remodel.
Davis said that he’s now hiring servers, managers and busers for the new restaurant. Anyone interested can call him at 316-727-4377.
Stay tuned for more information about the opening of Town & Country Classic Too.
This story was originally published September 2, 2022 at 12:33 PM.
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