In less than two weeks, this east Wichita restaurant will close. Sort of.
In a couple of weeks, Crafted at 9720 E. 21st St. will close its doors for the last time.
But owner Mike Brotemarkle, who opened the coffee and poke shop in August 2019, isn’t done with the space. Though Crafted as Wichita knows it is going away, Brotemarkle is replacing it with a second location of Sharky’s Island Bites, the restaurant he and his wife, Vicky Dao, opened in September at 8918 W. 21st St.
The end of Crafted, he said, is really more of a re-branding than a closing.
“It was the easy switch to make, to just turn everything into one brand,” he said. “We will be able to keep it a lot simpler.”
The two restaurants already shared a few menu similarities: Both offered poke bowls and were known for drinks like Vietnamese coffee and boba tea.
But when Crafted becomes Sharky’s, it will add Hawaiian plate lunches, which traditionally feature a protein like huli huli chicken — a sweet-and-savory marinated chicken — served with a side white rice and macaroni salad. Sharky’s Hawaiian plate menu, though, has a long list of protein choices, including beef bulgogi, chicken teriyaki, grilled shrimp and more.
The change will make marketing and advertising easier for Brotemarkle, who also has a Sharky’s Island Bites food truck that he opens every Saturday at the Old Town Farm & Art Market, serving huli huli chicken, teriyaki chicken and a burger that features a double smash patty topped with Spam and grilled pineapple.
Crafted opened six years ago as a coffee house that also offered build-your-own poke bowls: Brotemarke at the time also owned PokeMix poke restaurant at 21st and Tyler. (It closed in 2020.)
When it changes over to Sharky’s, the old Crafted will still have coffee but the menu will be much more condensed.
Brotemarkle said that Crafted’s last day will likely be May 31. Then, the restaurant will be closed for a couple of weeks while he transitions it into Sharky’s.
Though he’s already started some remodeling, he plans to add booths into the Crafted space that will increase its occupancy. The restaurant should reopen in mid-June, he said, though its drive-through window likely won’t be up and running until July.
During its first eight months in business, Brotemarkle said, the west-side Sharky’s has attracted steady business. The biggest sellers have been the huli huli chicken and the bulgogi beef.
When Crafted reopens as Sharky’s, its hours will be 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
This story was originally published May 19, 2025 at 12:09 PM.
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