Wichita keeps asking when the new west-side Deano’s will ever open. Now there’s an answer.
A little more than a year ago, Deano’s Grill & Tapworks owner John Arnold and business partner Lauren Irwin stood, shovels in hand, at the edge of an overgrown lot overlooking a residential lake.
They were breaking ceremonial ground for their big new project — a second Deano’s that would be 30% larger than the original Deano’s at 21st and Webb and that would have two stories and a patio with a view of the water.
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Since then — and especially recently — one of the most repeated questions among Wichita diners has been, “When’s the west-side Deano’s going to open?”
The answer: Monday.
Arnold and Irwin will invite the public into their slick new west-side Deano’s, which sits just west of the southwest corner of Ridge and 37th Street North, after they complete a few invite-only soft openings this weekend.
Customers will likely be wowed by the interior of the airy new sports bar, plans for which were first announced in January 2023.
It features seating indoors for 258 people, a giant, U-shaped bar lined with 40 bar stools, a long row of half-circle booths with cream-colored upholstery, an open kitchen, and a large upstairs area that includes a row of bar-seating facing a wall of television sets that will air sporting events.
The big draw, though, likely will be the bar’s shaded patios — one upstairs for private events and one down for everyday diners — that look out onto the private lake at the upscale Pier 37 housing development, a gated community full of million-dollar homes.
The residents there, Irwin said, are so excited about the new Deano’s that they’re talking about installing a dock or sand bar so that they can boat or jet ski directly to the restaurant — or so they said at a private party the owners threw last week for all residents of Pier 37 and of the other nearby housing developments like Avalon Park and Fox Ridge.
“I know them all now,” Irwin said. “...We’re all social media friends. They’re picking their stools. They want the ‘Cheers’ mentality.”
The new Deano’s, whose address is 7511 W. 37th St. North, will have the same menu and the same hours as the original at Cambridge Market, 9747 E. 21st St. It also will have many of the same features as the original restaurant, but everything will be a little bigger, a bit more modern. The east-side Deano’s, for example, carries 23 beers on tap and has 23 television sets airing sporting events. The west-side has 30 beers on tap and 30 television sets.
“To me this has nods to the old east Deano’s but it also shows that we’ve grown and figured things out,” said Irwin, noting that the owners designed the massive new kitchen on the west-side with efficiency in mind.
The new Deano’s will be managed by Ashleigh Fleming, who was a teenager when she took a job as a hostess at the original Deano’s 11 years ago.
Fleming, along with Irwin, led a tour of the new Deano’s this week, and the two proudly pointed out many of the unique features the new restaurant has.
One of them is an eye-catching glass chandelier hand-made by one of Arnold’s relatives. It hangs above the stairway and has a Dale Chihuly feel. But the artist made it by heating and pulling used Budweiser bottles.
Both the men’s and the women’s restrooms have high-tech mirrors that not only show customers their reflections but also serve as television screens. Even during a restroom break, visitors won’t miss any of the game.
The west-side Deano’s also has a glass window that looks into its keg room — a feature that east-side customers love. And it has something that the east-side doesn’t: a dedicated pickup door with several reserved parking spots so that people who ordered to-go food can drive right up.
The new bar is also filled with sports memorabilia honoring Irwin’s favorite Dallas Cowboys, Arnold’s favorite Oklahoma Sooners and lots of items representing Wichitans who have gone on to athletic stardom.
People have been beyond eager for the new restaurant to open, Fleming said. Neighbors frequently zoom over on their golf carts, asking to see inside. A man named Bob shows up every day so that he can check on the construction progress.
Regulars at the east-side Deano’s are also excited, Irwin said, and owners sent a party bus to pick them up last week and drive them across town to the private party that was attended by the restaurant’s new neighbors.
The restaurant’s owners say they are ready to get the doors open but will use the weekend to let their west-side staff members practice their jobs: No employees were brought over from the east-side Deano’s, Irwin said. The entire staff — from servers to kitchen employees — are learning their jobs.
Fleming said she hopes that, when they see the new place, customers will agree that it was worth the wait.
“You just take everything that’s so great about Deano’s east and say, ‘How to do you make it better and more efficient?’” she said. “And that’s what we’ve accomplished.”
Arnold and Irwin’s A&M Management Group also has Oak & Pie at 2244 N. Greenwich and Stearman Field Bar & Grill in Benton.
The hours for the new Deano’s will be 11 a.m. to midnight Sundays through Thursdays and 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
This story was originally published September 12, 2024 at 12:18 PM.
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