Wichita diners wonder if building going up on Maize Road will be home to a restaurant
Welcome to another round of “Is it a restaurant?”
Today’s contestant: an under-construction building at 2618 N. Maize Road, which sits just in front of Lowe’s and is sandwiched by A&W to the south and Smoothie King to the north.
Any time construction equipment appears on restaurant-heavy North Maize Road, hungry citizens tend to make a logical conclusion: The building will house another new place to grab something to eat or drink.
And this building looks promising: It’s got a tall front facade, perfect for a restaurant sign, and two spaces in back that would be perfect for garage doors that could open a dining room up to the outside.
However, the building going up at 2618 N. Maize Road will...NOT be a restaurant.
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Instead, it will house Wichita’s third Valvoline Instant Oil Change store, which will likely be ready to go sometime in August. Those two spaces in back perfect for garage doors will in fact have garage doors — for a garage. Like its counterpart at 5826 W. Central, this Valvoline will have two oil-changing bays. (Wichita’s other Valvoline, at 3160 N. Rock Road, has three.)
This is not the first time oil change chains have gotten Wichita food fans’ hopes up.
Back in the summer of 2023, part of a strip center that held Lamar’s Donuts on North Rock Road was demolished, and a new building started to take shape on the land. It turned out to be the Valvoline.
Also, back in January of 2024, Wichitans began speculating what new eatery might take over the Burger King space at 200 S. Rock Road after the restaurant closed. But the old building was eventually demolished to make way for a new Take 5 Oil Change business.
Are you wondering about any other construction projects in Wichita? If so, email me at dneil@wichitaeagle.com and I’ll try to find out what it is.
This story was originally published June 23, 2025 at 11:19 AM.
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