New Wichita music venue, restaurant is opening where burger place closed last year
The restaurant space on West Central that most recently was home to burger restaurant Big Arbor will soon be home to a new live music venue that also serves food.
Kayla Mertes, a former co-owner of The Jukebox at 1300 S. Seneca, has taken over the Big Arbor space at 4311 W. Central and will open Red Brick Room on Sunday with a big grand opening party that will feature 10 bands.
Mertes, a longtime fan of live music, said she wanted to provide a place in Wichita where people could regularly go to get a bite and see some bands. She plans to offer music five nights a week — with an emphasis on oldies rock. The venue features both an outside and inside stage.
She said she’ll never charge a cover unless she hires a band from out of town to play.
“I love it,” she said of live music. “I think it’s good for the soul. It’s good for people. I want them to all come out and experience it.”
It has a full kitchen, and though Mertes said she won’t have the menu ready to go this weekend, she’ll soon start serving healthier options like rice bowls, fresh-made burritos and appetizers like bruschetta, stuffed mushrooms and fried Brussels sprouts.
Once she gets the kitchen open, she also plans to open for breakfast.
“So people can come and drink and have breakfast at 6 a.m.,” she said.
Mertes will put on one soft opening starting at 5 p.m. on Wednesday that will feature a performance by Jamie Quick, who will perform from 8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Then, on Sunday, the bar will be open from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. for the grand opening, which will feature several well-known bands, including Sleepy Truckers. The leader of that band, Vinnie Mourning, has agreed to book all the bands for Mertes.
The only nights that won’t feature live music will be Tuesdays and Fridays, when the bar will offer karaoke.
The space got a complete remodel from its days as Big Arbor, which closed in January 2023. Mertes said she tore out the old bar and added a big horseshoe-shaped bar. She also added a stage and tore out all the drop ceilings.
Following is the lineup for Sunday’s grand opening party:
Pretty Ugly
This story was originally published June 17, 2024 at 2:10 PM.
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