Clifton Square about to add a high-end bar specializing in whiskey, wine and cocktails
It’s a busy time to be Derek Sorrells.
On the same day that the Papa’s General Store owner announced plans to bring the dirty soda trend to Wichita with a new west-side shop called Just a Sip, he’s also talking about his plan to turn another Clifton Square building into a high-end whiskey, wine and tea bar.
Sorrells said he hasn’t yet chosen a name for the bar, but it will be an evolution of the space’s current business, The Teahouse, which is a tea room and retail tea shop that opened August 2020 in the old house that sits east of Papa’s General Store in Clifton Square, 3700 E. Douglas. Sorrells recently bought the business.
Sorrells said that it will continue to operate as The Tea House until around Aug. 29. After that, he will start construction, which he expects to take about three weeks to complete.
Sorrells says he will transform the interior of the old house to have a look more in line with a nightlife destination and will decorate with dark, rich colors, darker wood tones, books lining the walls and old-school flight maps hung up as decor. The space will have room for seating inside and on the shop’s Douglas-facing patio, which Sorrells plans to fill with even more comfortable furniture.
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“This is what I’ve done with all the businesses I have,” he said. “I always want to do something that nobody does in Wichita.”
The bar will offer “drinks that absolutely look and taste amazing,” he said, adding that the menu will focus on wine, whiskey, bourbon and cocktails. The bar will also have a limited food menu. Sorrells plans to add a “charcuterie board brunch” on Saturdays and Sundays, and the boards will feature things like tiny waffles and fresh fruit.
“Today’s young people want something and that’s an experience,” he said. “. . . It’s eating and tasting and drinking that experience as well, and that’s what we want to offer.”
The Teahouse has a loyal clientele, and he doesn’t want to alienate them, Sorrells said. He plans to keep hot tea on the menu and hopes those customers will also continue to come. He also plans to use hot tea to make a few signature whiskey cocktails.
Haley Heter, one of the owners of The Teahouse, said she and her partner were particular about who they sold the business to. They see the new bar as an evolution of what they were trying to do with the space since they also sold alcohol and cigars in addition to tea. Sorrells will take it to the next level, she said.
The Teahouse closes at 9 p.m., but the new bar will have extended hours and will likely stay open until midnight on the weekends.
Sorrells said he’s not trying to take business from his Clifton Square neighbors like Dempsey’s Burger Pub, Sorrells said. He hopes to complement what they already do.
“We are super aware that places like Dempsey’s that are right here with us have a great night business,” he said. “We want to give people who are interested in something different than an IPA and things like that an option. We’re not going to focus on that at all.”
This story was originally published August 17, 2023 at 2:30 PM.
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