Opening of new restaurant that appears to include Bennigan’s ghost kitchen is delayed
.jpg "The Green Mill replacement 54 Craft & Co, near Kellogg and Rock, won’t open until February at the earliest.")
The signs have been up for months. Construction equipment has come and gone. But so far, 54 Craft & Co. — the restaurant taking over the Green Mill restaurant space inside Wichita’s Holiday Inn at Rock and Kellogg — has not yet opened, even though it was originally projected to open over the summer.
The wait will continue into next year, said Will Harrington, director of operations for Kinseth Hospitality Companies — which owns the Holiday Inn at 549 S. Rock Road
“Unfortunately, with the age of the building, we ran into some issues with renovation,” he said.
The company is now hoping to have the restaurant open by February.
54 Craft & Co is named for Highway 54, also known as Kellogg, which the hotel overlooks. The restaurant will offer a “crafted culinary experience,” Harrington has said, and the ambiance and menu will be much different from Green Mill.
When complete, 54 Craft & Co. will be similar to other hotel restaurants the company has recently opened in Iowa. One, called JC Craft & Co., is inside the Marriott hotel in West Des Moines and offers entrees like a grilled and seasoned porterhouse chop, chicken paillard served over sauteed vegetables and pan roasted salmon. It also serves sandwiches, burgers, fish and chips, pizza and flatbreads.
Another newer Kinseth restaurant is in Iowa City and is called Vue Rooftop. Part of a Hilton Garden Inn, the restaurant offers a similar menu to JC Craft & Co., with steak, chicken and seafood dishes plus burgers, sandwiches and shareable appetizers. Both restaurants also have bars offering craft cocktails, beer wine, martinis and more.
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The Wichita restaurant also will apparently include a concept called Bennigan’s On the Fly. Kinseth own Bennigan’s restaurants in Urbandale and Clear Lake, Iowa, and the official Bennigan’s restaurant website lists “Bennigan’s On the Fly” at the same address as 54 Craft & Co. under its “coming soon” section, and the concept has its own Facebook page.
Bennigan’s on the Fly appear to be virtual kitchens that can operate out of an existing commercial kitchen and offer carryout or delivery versions of 14 Bennigan’s favorites, including the Turkey O’Toole sandwich and the Monte Cristo, to hotel guests and the general public. A Bennigan’s on the Fly opened in August in Overland Park, attached to a restaurant called KC Craft & Co., which operates out of a Holiday Inn & Suites.
Wichita’s last Bennigan’s closed in 2008 in the building at 111 S. Rock Road that BD’s Mongolion Grill recently vacated.
This story was originally published December 17, 2024 at 1:33 PM.
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