Popular Wichita Irish bar and restaurant is expanding, adding an east-side location
The Artichoke Sandwichbar — the long-running Irish bar and go-to sandwich place in downtown Wichita — is about to expand.
The owners of the bar at 811 N. Broadway, which has been in business for nearly 40 years, have just signed a lease to take over the former Wendy’s space on the ground level of the Terra-Cotta Tower, the tall office building at 2959 N. Rock Road. They plan to use it for an east-side version of the Artichoke that they’ll call Artichoke East.
Construction will start in about a month, and owners Tracy Rutledge and Uche Onwugbufor hope to have it open sometime in September.
The original Artichoke will remain open.
“We’ve outgrown that building,” Onwugbufor said of the downtown space. “If we need to grow more, it can’t be in that building.”
The duo say they plan to replicate the downtown Artichoke experience on the east side. It’ll have the same menu of sandwiches — including the top-selling Famous No. 8 — during lunch. And it’ll also offer live music on the weekends.
One difference: During the dinner hour, Artichoke East will also offer a menu of Irish favorites like baked potatoes, shepherd’s pie, mulligan stew, and bangers and mash. The bar is famous for serving the latter two dishes every year during its St. Patrick’s Day party.
Artichoke East will also have a small outdoor patio, and the owners will utilize the drive-through that’s already there.
Onwugbufor said that the east-side space is only slightly larger than the original downtown.
“That was our intention,” he said. “You don’t want some huge place where you get 30 or 40 people in there and it feels empty. We want to keep that same vibe to where it feels cozy.”
Almost exactly a year ago, Sergio Munoz announced his plans to open a mac-and-cheese restaurant in the space that Artichoke East is taking over. But by November, those plans had been scrapped, with Munoz citing unexpected building costs.
Founder Patrick Audley opened the Artichoke in 1984, and when he decided to retire in 2019, he sold it to Rutledge and Onwugbufor, the latter of which is a respected local musician who had been a regular Artichoke performer. Since then, the new owners have also opened an Artichoke food truck.
Stay tuned for developments at the Artichoke East.
This story was originally published May 23, 2023 at 1:05 PM.
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