Flashback Friday: ’80s restaurant was one of few that could draw east Wichita to west side
West Wichita’s inferiority complex — especially when it comes to restaurants — has deep, deep roots.
More than 40 years ago, a Wichita Eagle restaurant writer penned a humorous but heartfelt review informing the east side of town that not only was it safe to cross the river to dine but that — in this particular case — it would be in its best interest to do so.
The restaurant was called The Maples, and though it lasted only five years near Maple and Maize Road, it developed a following of diners who loved its cozy ambiance, its Canadian baby back ribs and its lavish Sunday buffets.
An excerpt from the February 1983 review by writer Kim Mandle:
“What is it about the west side of town that makes citizens living east of the river so nervous? Larry Chester, manager of The Maples Restaurant, 10100 W. Maple, would really like to know. It’s not that his restaurant is empty — Friday and Saturday nights at The Maples usually call for reservations — it’s just that the west side seems to be misunderstood, and, as a result, so does The Maples restaurant.
‘I really don’t know what it is about this part of town,’” Chester said. ‘I guess people think that they’re going to drop off the end of the world once they pass over the river and head west.’”
The Maples opened on Nov. 1, 1979, in a building that still stands near the northeast corner of Maple and Maize. (Today, people tend to confuse The Maples with The Farm, a completely different restaurant that operated at Maple and Tyler in the 1950s.)
The Maples was a bit unusual: Although it was open for public dining, it was technically a part of a just-built retirement community called Maple Gardens Village, which operated on the edge of Rolling Hills Country Club. Co-owned by Dr. Jon Kardatzke — who would famously go on to found Wichita’s Museum of World Treasures — Maple Gardens was made up of eight apartment buildings and advertised amenities like weekly maid and laundry service, three activity centers, a two-acre park with a stocked fishing lake, and an on-site restaurant: The Maples.
The owners wanted the public to be in the restaurant, too, not only to expand its customer base but also to give the retirement center’s residents a place to interact with people from the community. When the restaurant closed between lunch and dinner, the residents used the space for bingo games and Bible studies.
When it first opened, The Maples billed itself as “Wichita’s finest new restaurant.” Its dining room included a fireplace, and its advertisements billed the setting as “cozy” and “rustic.” Lucky diners would be seated at tables that afforded a view of the Maple Gardens lake.
The dinner menu included dishes like aged prime rib, crab legs, lobster tail, deep-fried jumbo shrimp, flounder stuffed with deviled crab meat, pan-fried catfish and Chateaubriand for two. Eagle writer Mandle described the restaurant’s famous Canadian baby back ribs as tender, delicious and “worth a drive from even the easternmost reaches of the city.”
The kitchen would sometimes put on live lobster feasts, and it also offered international buffets featuring Asian, Italian or German cuisine. The big, four-line Sunday buffet included choices like baron of beef, baked chicken, roast pork and potatoes au gratin.
The Maples, which became a destination for prom-goers and special-occasion diners, also had an in-house baker who would prepare homemade rolls, pies and cakes, and its salad bar was a popular draw. The restaurant had a more casual lunch menu, and it eventually started offering breakfast.
By 1982, The Maples was no longer calling itself a family restaurant. It was operating more as a restaurant and nightclub, and it added singing waiters and waitresses to its staff, jumping on a trend that was working at the east side’s Judge Riggs, where musical servers were a big draw.
In March of 1984, owners hired manager Keith Mae, whose resume included successful stints at the Twin Lakes Club and at the Petroleum Club. The “New Maples Club” offered live entertainment Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings.
But by then, The Maples was on its way out. It closed in July of 1984, and in September, Caliendo Investment Co. announced that it had purchased the 12,000 square-foot restaurant building and planned to convert it into office space. Home State Life Insurance Co. bought the building in 1986 for its headquarters. Then, in 1987, Re/Max Realty Professionals Inc. bought the building.
The former home of The Maples still stands — and it still looks much like it did 40 years ago. Today, it’s used as a co-working space called Elevate Coworking and has 30 private offices inside.
Maple Gardens Village still operates as an apartment community for people ages 55 and older. And even though it doesn’t have its own restaurant, it does still have a stocked fishing lake.
This story was originally published May 16, 2025 at 5:04 AM.
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