A moment of silence for a restaurant building that welcomed Wichita diners for 75 years
The building stood for at least 75 years, and inside its slate walls, generations of Wichitans enjoyed charbroiled steaks and cashew chicken.
On Friday, March 21, it was being torn down and hauled away.
The building at 1645 S. Seneca that was home to Chinese restaurant Ming’s until last summer was being taken down by a two-man crew with an excavator and a dump truck.
By mid-morning, nearly all that was left of the building was its back and side walls. Those driving by could see the building’s slate bricks in piles alongside twisted metal and crushed-up restaurant chairs.
The mid-century building, which was built in the mid-1950s as a Kings-X restaurant called J-Bar-X, was sold last year to Aron Haynes, the owner of the Allpak Battery store next door at 1645 S. Seneca. Haynes needs more storage space for his business, he said last year, and he plans to extend his warehouse onto the property.
Ming’s closed in June after owner Ray Chan, who opened the restaurant as a young man in 1977, decided to retire. Chan owned the building and said at the time he would either lease it to another restaurant operator or sell it.
Over the years, the building also was home to Skaets Steak Shop which served charcoal-broiled steaks in the 1960s. Restaurants with names like Anthony’s and The Egg Roll Restaurant were tenants in the 1970s
The classic mid-century yellow-and-red Ming’s sign is still standing. Last Friday, Haynes said he hasn’t decided what to do with it just yet. He’ll either leave it standing or remove it and keep it. But it won’t go in the trash, he said.
This story was originally published March 21, 2025 at 11:13 AM.
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