New tenant in Beautiful Day Cafe space serves eclectic mix of Latin, Middle Eastern fare
The old Beautiful Day Cafe space at 2516 E. Central has been through a few tenants since Charolett Knapic closed her six-year-old eatery in late 2021.
Now, it has a new one. Las Abuelas — a concept that Maggie Pichinte and her husband, Josef, started as a pop-up business in 2022 and also operated from an Old Town Farm and Art Market booth last year — has just taken over the Beautiful Day space and is now open to dine-in customers.
Las Abuelas, which translates to “the grandmothers,” will serve recipes the couple grew up eating: Maggie was raised in Mexico and Spain, and Josef is Salvadoran. The menu also includes a few Middle Eastern dishes.
The restaurant, which also offers catering, serves “those staple dishes you only get at your grandma’s house,” Pichinte said.
Among the menu items customers will find: Las Abuelas’ signature “Big Baby” burrito, which was a hit at the farmers market and comes with choice of carne asada or chicken plus red rice and beans, fresh avocados, grilled bell peppers and onions, and salsa on the side. That burrito also comes filled with eggs for those who want a breakfast burrito.
It also serves fresh hummus, shakshuka (a dish made with poached eggs in a tomato sauce) and Salvadoran quesadillas. A bakery case is full of offerings like choco flan, coconut macaroons, lemon tarts and challah bread.
Several menu items can be made vegetarian, and many of the pastries are gluten-free, Pichinte said.
The cafe’s hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays through Fridays. It’s closed on Saturdays.
The couple got their start in the food business in October 2022 when they began selling their dishes from a tent outside of a space at 534 N. Woodlawn that they hoped would become the home of their restaurant. Though they never got the restaurant open, they served from the tent until October of 2023.
Last summer, they were regulars at the Old Town farmers market, but that setup was not ideal for the family, who is Jewish. The religious services they attended were on Saturday mornings and were a big part of their life — but they conflicted with the Saturday-morning market schedule.
Being separated from that community took a toll, Pichinte said, and they knew they needed to find a space where they could control the hours.
“We said we were going to do one year of working the farmers market, and if we could end up having something permanent within that year, that would be wonderful,” she said. “If not, we were just going to say, ‘Okay. We gave it our shot, and it didn’t work out.’”
Pichinte said she felt “blessed” to have found the Beautiful Day Cafe space just in time.
The couple put on a soft opening over the weekend and got a good response, Pichinte said. She hopes more people will wander in and discover Las Abuelas.
“It’s that little kind of hole in the middle of Wichita where you can come in and just get lost and lose track of time.”
This story was originally published April 1, 2024 at 11:58 AM.
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