One Wichita chicken restaurant closes, another opens
One chicken restaurant in Wichita closes, another chicken restaurant in Wichita opens.
Such is the circle of chicken restaurant life.
First, the closure: Buffalo Wings and Rings, which opened in 2018 in the Greenwich Place development at K-96 and Greenwich, has just closed its doors. It was known for its chicken wings with dipping sauces, onion rings and a dining room filled with television sets.
Franchisee Zachary Blue did not return calls and messages about the closure. When he and his partners opened the restaurant five years ago, they said they had plans to also add restaurants on Wichita’s west side and in Derby, too. But those plans never materialized.
Meanwhile, another Wichita chicken restaurant has finally opened after a few months of indecision over a name.
Chuck’s Hot Chicken, which specializes in Nashville hot chicken sandwiches and strips, put on a brief and overwhelming soft opening in late May. Then, Brad Rogers — who built the little to-go restaurant space onto the east end of his gun and ammo store The Bullet Stop at 2625 W. Pawnee — closed the doors for a retooling. In June, he said that he and the owners of Chuck’s Hot Chicken, a small franchise based in the St. Louis suburb of O’Fallon, Missouri, had parted ways and that he was doing his own thing. The restaurant’s name would be Brad’s Chicken, Bullets & BBQ, he said, and he planned to open within a week or two.
But he didn’t open, and now, Chuck’s Hot Chicken owner Charles Taylor says that he and Rogers have reestablished their partnership and that the restaurant will operate as a Chuck’s Hot Chicken after all. He said he preferred not to get into details about the back-and-forth.
“He and I are excited to move forward together, and we’re a team,” Taylor said. “We’re very excited to be in the community.”
The restaurant operates mostly as a to-go business and doesn’t have any indoor seating, though a few tables have been set up outside. People can order food at the window or in advance online at chuckshotchicken.com
The menu is small, Taylor said, but people love Chuck’s Nashville hot chicken sandwich, which comes in a range of heat levels from 0 to 6, which is “basically nuclear,” he said. The menu also includes home-style sides and appetizers.
“It’s a very limited menu, but everything we do is very good,” Taylor said.
Chuck’s Hot Chicken’s is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays as well as Sundays and from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. It’s closed on Mondays.
Chuck’s Hot Chicken menu
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