Upscale chophouse, wine & whiskey bar opening on Wichita’s west side, but it’ll be a bit
By the end of next year, west Wichita will have a new fine-dining restaurant that will include a large glassed-in wine room, a grand piano in the bar and 5,000 square feet of space where customers will be able to entertain their corporate clients, celebrate special occasions or just relax after work.
Greg Hiser, a pilot who built his career in aircraft insurance and also founded Hangar One Steakhouse back in 2009, said that crews have already started construction on the restaurant, which he’ll call KVH Chophouse, Wine & Whiskey Bar.
It’ll be on the southeast corner of 29th and Tyler, he said, and will sit just south of the Casey’s convenience store. The foundation and plumbing are in, he said, and soon, crews will start pouring floors then start framing on the space.
Wichita will have to be patient, though, Hiser said: He doesn’t expect to open the restaurant until late 2024.
Hiser, who sold Hangar One in 2019, said he’s been out of the restaurant business since then and was ready to get back in. He decided the west side of Wichita could use more upscale dining options, especially another fine-dining steakhouse.
“There’s only one in northwest Wichita, and that’s 6S,” Hiser said of Brandon Steven’s 6-year-old restaurant at 6200 W. 21st St. “I think there’s room for another.”
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The restaurant, Hiser said, will feature a bar and a dining room separated by a large wine room that stocks more than 500 bottles and is enclosed by floor-to-ceiling glass. He’ll frequently invite musicians to entertain crowds at an ebony grand piano set up in the bar, he said, and the restaurant will also have a courtyard and an outdoor patio.
Customers will be able to order “fine cuts of meat,” sip craft cocktails and peruse a large selection of whiskey — opportunities that are mostly available on the east side of town, Hiser said.
“That’s the reason we picked the west side: The demand is there,” he said. “This is going to be kind of a neighborhood restaurant.”
Hiser said he feels comfortable enough with the concept that he’s self-funding it and that “no banks are involved.” He’s spent much of the last year traveling to fine-dining restaurants across the country, scoping out what works and what doesn’t. He also is taking cues from one of his favorite restaurants in Florida, where he has a home. That restaurant has live piano music, which customers there love, he said.
He hasn’t hired a chef or general manager yet, he said, and probably won’t until early in 2024. He’s looking for candidates both inside and outside of Wichita.
He also isn’t ready to say yet exactly what dishes will populate the menu beyond high-end cuts of meat.
“We haven’t finalized a menu yet and probably won’t for a while,” he said. “We want to see where the trends go. Things may change between now and next year.”
Hiser said he decided to name the restaurant for his late parents, Keith and Verna Hiser, both of whom died about two and a half years ago, he said.
“They’re my heroes,” he said.
Stay tuned for updates on the restaurant as construction progresses.
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