Owner not sure what’s next for his year-old Wichita restaurant, which he’ll close this weekend
A restaurant that opened last spring in downtown Wichita has just a few days left — at least at its current location.
Forge ICT, which opened last April at 917 E. Douglas, won’t operate there anymore after Saturday, said owner Marcello Venegas. He hopes to reopen it either at a different address or as a food truck, he said, though he hasn’t yet decided exactly what he’ll do next.
“This happened very abruptly,” said Venegas. “...We just weren’t able to keep our head above water on it, and I became delinquent on rent.”
Though people loved the food his chefs were preparing, Venegas said, the restaurant experienced “a lot of financial ‘oopsies’ at the beginning and just didn’t recover,” he said.
One of his two chefs, Brandon Runkel, had the idea to open the restaurant as a food truck and serve some of the items it’s been offering to late-night bar crowds that stop in from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights — things like tacos, nachos and quesadillas. The steaks, pork chops and other items Forge was known for likely wouldn’t work on a food truck though, Venegas said.
Venegas, who also owns the Peerless bar next door, said that people have a few more days to get the food that his chefs, Runkel and Kevin Gillenwater, prepare.
The regular menu will be served until 9 p.m. today and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The late-night menu options will be served from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturdays
Venegas said he’d update me when he decided what would be next for Forge ICT.
This story was originally published June 27, 2024 at 2:26 PM.
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