A Doc’s Steak House addendum: Current owners still have plans for long-vacant building
Last week, I spotlighted Doc’s Steak House in my weekly “Flashback Friday” feature, which revisits old restaurants that Wichita once loved.
In that story, I noted that the aging building has been empty ever since Doc’s vacated the space a decade ago after having been in business for 62 years. This prompted many people to wonder what might become of the building at 1515 N. Broadway, which still today is holding on to remnants of Doc’s old signage.
While researching that story, I made contact with the daughter of the building’s current owner and asked for an update on the building, whose stone facade and arched parking lot entry were the height of architectural style when they were added in a 1971 Doc’s remodel.
Two years after Doc’s closed — in 2016 — the Eagle reported that new owners had purchased the building and planned to open a Mexican restaurant there. The owners weren’t named at the time.
But eight years later, nothing has happened.
Ellie Vizcarra-Bedoy, whose mother, Celia Bedoy Arambula, is the owner of the building, says that her family still hasn’t given up on plans to move their longtime local restaurant into the building.
The family owns Tacos El Tapatio, which has served authentic Mexican food at 1721 N. Broadway — just up the street from the old Doc’s building — for the last 20 years, having previously operated at 2005 S. Seneca and 1935 N. Broadway. The restaurant’s large menu features tacos, burritos, gorditas, tortas and quesadillas plus a large selection of Mexican seafood dishes.
Vizcara-Bedoy said the family still hopes to renovate the old Doc’s building and one day move the restaurant into it.
“There are a lot of costly repairs left to deal with honestly, and we’ve had personal events that have prevented us from moving sooner than we had liked,” she said.
Doc’s, which was founded by Dwight “Doc” Hustead in 1952, was a favorite Wichita dining destination for decades. It was famous for its garlic salad.
This story was originally published July 25, 2024 at 1:34 PM.
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