Want to open a restaurant? Haysville willing to pay $15,000 if you’ll do it there
Sometimes, when a city wants something badly enough, it has to go after it.
In the case of Haysville — the city of about 11,200 just south of Wichita — residents want more restaurants, says economic development director Danielle Gabor. So the city has come up with three incentive packages that it hopes will help draw the specific kinds of restaurants the growing city most needs.
Entrepreneurs who want to open one of three types of restaurants in Haysville — a sit-down coffee shop with a drive-through, a full service steakhouse, brewery or family dining restaurant, or a fast food/quick service restaurant — could qualify for an incentive package up to $15,000 in cash and tax rebates, she said.
It’s not unusual for cities to offer these types of incentives, Gabor said. Haysville has had the coffee shop and steakhouse incentive on the table for awhile, but it recently upped the offer from $5,000 to $15,000 and added the fast food/quick-service incentive.
“It kind of helps a business as they’re getting established,” Gabor said. “It’s a little bit of helping hand and support from the city, and the reason we’re doing this is that our residents have shown a major interest in bringing in these types of businesses.”
Though Haysville has several restaurants — including popular spots like Excaret Mexico Bar & Grill at 424 W. Grand, the longtime Red’s Cafe at 1417 E. Grand, and the popular SK Donut at 133 N. Main —the community is growing and could use more dining options, Gabor said.
“We have residential homes being built, and we have more people, and we need to have more businesses to support those people,” she said. “We have a few places, but for the amount of residents we have, we definitely need a few more.”
The city, under Gabor’s leadership, came up with the three categories of restaurants it’s after, and it listed some specifics on Haysville’s website. To be eligible, a business would have to set up within Haysville’s city limits and complete an application, which the city would then have to approve.
Here’s are the specifics of what the city is after:
▪ Coffee shop: Haysville would like a shop that “serves traditional and specialty coffee and providing some food service,” such as pastries and sandwiches. A shop that has both dine-in and drive-through options is preferred, and the city would also like it to have a small stage or entertainment area for bands. It would like the business to serve in the morning, afternoon and evening at least six days a week.
▪ Steak house/family dining restaurant: The city is looking for a full-service, sit-down restaurant such as a steakhouse, a brewery with a full menu or a family-dining restaurant. It would prefer that the restaurant offer both lunch and dinner service, that it serve alcohol and that it be open at least six days a week.
▪ Fast food/ quick service dining restaurant: Haysville is looking for a sit-down, take-out and/or drive-through restaurant that will be open at least six days a week.
The city’s website lists how the incentives would be paid out and also includes an application for interested businesses. Both can be found at www.haysville-ks.com/business-development
This story was originally published October 2, 2023 at 1:52 PM.
.jpg)