New dessert, daiquiri bar is planned for Delano; Owners will start with a west-side pop up
Several Wichita entrepreneurs have promised Wichita a daiquiri bar over the past couple of years — most recently the owners of Cloud’s Daiquiri Lounge, which quickly dropped the drinks after changing concepts, and two friends who announced plans for a daiquiri lounge at 2800 E. Central but weren’t able to get it open.
Now, another pair of daiquiri lovers are working on a business in the Delano district that will specialize in the colorful cocktails and also will serve other mixed drinks as well as desserts.
Jeremy Fisher and business partner Kenny Shave have leased the former dance studio space at 1019 W. Douglas from landlord Tony Abdayem. The space is just west of La Galette, the popular restaurant Abdayem founded and ran until February 2021. Its last tenant, Sway Ballroom & Latin Dance Studio, moved out in late 2021.
At the moment, scaffolding is set up in front of the building, and workers are busy both outside and in. Fisher and Shave, who recently secured zoning approval to open a nightclub in the space, are hoping to have the business open no later than Halloween. They’ve chosen an alliterative name for the business: Delano Desserts, Daiquiris and Drinks.
While they wait for the building to be ready, though, Fisher and Shave are going to get some practice in with a pop-up bar that they hope to launch soon at Lito’s, the taco restaurant that has menus for vegan and non-vegan customers that opened in the spring in the former Angry Elephant space at 756 N. Tyler.
Fisher and Shave, who initially met when Shave was Fisher’s boss at Outback Steakhouse, met again when they both worked at the west side Angry Elephant, which closed in January. That’s where they also met Lito’s owner Angel Ponce —who had helped run Angry Elephant for his cousin. Ponce is not using the bar side of the Lito’s space yet and told Fisher and Shave they could use the space and serve daiquiris and beer to his customers. They plan to open the pop-up space as soon as the liquor license goes through.
“We’re going to get a little practice in and use that area to test out what drinks are most popular,” Fisher said.
Meanwhile, they’ll be solidifying plans for the Delano bar, which Fisher says will serve a daiquiris in a variety of flavors that will be made with rum, gin or vodka and will be lavishly garnished. It’ll also serve mixed drinks but not beer.
They want their drinks to be visually over-the-top and highly Instagrammable so that they can lure in people who will take photos of their drinks and post them online.
The bar also will serve desserts. Some will be made by the owner of La Galette next door. Others will be more off-the-wall offerings that appeal to the Instagram crowds: things like cotton candy burritos, boozy cupcakes and candy-coated fruits.
They also want the business to have a family-friendly vibe.
“That’s why we’re focusing on desserts,” Fisher said. “You can bring your kids down to get dessert, and you can get a drink.”
The owners also plan to install a garage door on the back-side of the bar and install an adjoining patio. The entrance may be off the back parking lot, too.
Fisher said he and Shave have been planning the bar for almost two years and started hunting for a space in 2021. They liked the Delano spot because of the foot traffic in the area and because of its proximity to Riverfront Stadium.
They also think Wichita will like having a daiquiri bar.
“This is something a lot of cities have that Wichita doesn’t,” Fisher said.
This story was originally published June 30, 2023 at 1:38 PM.
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