‘We can’t get put out this time’: Wichita family loses restaurant lease, buys own building
For two years, Shea Nelson and her family had a strong carryout business going at The Nelson’s Kitchen, which they ran out of the former Sal’s Japanese Steakhouse space at 6829 E. Kellogg.
But earlier this spring, their lease was up, and the building’s new owner didn’t want to renew it. Nelson closed the restaurant at the end of April and feared that she’d have to give it up for good.
The family started looking at other buildings, but the one they wanted came with a too-steep rent payment. They then heard about a building that was for sale, and they jumped on it.
The family hopes to have their restaurant reopened by mid-July at 1712 E. Morris, which is near Lincoln and Hydraulic. Morris St. Carry Out was the building’s previous tenant.
“We can’t get put out this time,” Nelson told her customers when she shared the news of the building purchase on social media.
The property the Nelsons bought includes a restaurant space that will allow them to add dine-in service. It also has an attached space, formerly a liquor store, which Shea Nelson said she will use to create a marketplace selling things like fresh veggies and unique bottled sodas.
“Now we get to carry our name to a building we own,” she said.
Nelson family members have been working on sprucing up the interior of the restaurant space, but the renovations have been more costly than they anticipated. This week, a loyal customer started a Go Fund Me campaign designed to help the Nelson family with the expenses. So far, it’s raised only $20, but the customer set the goal at $10,000.
“If you haven’t tried Nelson’s Kitchen please do,” customer Djuna Harris wrote on the Go Fund Me Page she started. “They cook home style meals.”
Nelson and her family ran Brint’s Diner, 4834 E. Lincoln, from November 2019 until they closed it in April 2021. A year later, they found the spot on East Kellogg and served things like wings, fried fish, Philly cheese steak sandwiches and fries from a carryout window.
Once she gets the new restaurant open, Nelson said, it will serve similar menu items, but she plans to add a few items that customers have requested, including a fish-and-grits meal.
The new restaurant also will serve breakfast and will have a full bar.
“We’re excited about it,” Nelson said. “And everybody’s excited about the dine-in part.”
This story was originally published June 7, 2024 at 1:06 PM.
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