New Wichita restaurant is a bit behind schedule — but for a good reason
A little over a month ago, Kasi Ross II thought he was ready to open Haven, his new restaurant and lounge at 315 N. Mead in Old Town Square.
Then, his mom came in to take a look around.
The wooden tables and chairs left over from the building’s previous tenant, Todd Brian’s Brick Street Café & Tavern, just didn’t fit the vibe, Lakisha Ross told her son. She wasn’t a fan.
“And I’m like, ‘Mom, you could have said that in March when we got the keys,’” Ross said with a laugh. “But then it was me being able to have enough humility to say, ‘You know what? Let’s do it right the first time so that we’re bringing people into a space that does feel transformed.”
And that, Ross said, is the answer to a question he gets a lot: “Why aren’t you open yet?” Originally, he and partner Iasiah Zhang planned to have Haven open by summer, but ordering their sleek new tables and chairs set them back.
Now, though, the two are almost ready to open the doors. They plan to start putting on tastings for family and friends this week and should have the doors open in the next few weeks, Ross said.
Ross and Zhang imagine the new business as a sophisticated hangout where young professionals will gather for cocktails and Southern-inspired dishes. Haven’s head chef — WSU Tech culinary school graduate Ashala Brown — has worked with owners to create the menu, which Ross thinks people will love. It includes things like shrimp and grits, chicken and waffles, honey jalapeno-glazed salmon and gumbo.
“Our gumbo — oh my goodness,” he said. “Even people who don’t eat gumbo so far that have tried it love it. “
The restaurant will offer brunch both Saturdays and Sundays, when it will serve items like shrimp and grits. The brunch on Saturday will have a party vibe and on Sunday will be a little quieter for the after-church crowd.
Haven also will have cocktails and a full bar that focuses on Ross’ favorite spirit — cognac. It will even offer some unique cognac cocktails, including a cognac espresso and a mimosa made with cognac. Haven also will be working with Wichita-founded spirit brands Greatness Vodka and Una Vida tequila, which it will use to create its other specialty cocktails.
In addition to changing the tables and chairs, Ross said, the owners also painted the interior walls and redesigned the bar. They’re also designing a space where a DJ can set up and spin music.
Ross said he wants the restaurant to appeal to all the senses. He and his partner even helped design a signature scent for the restaurant at Wichita’s Lola Candle Co. Customers will be enveloped in the scent when they enter the restaurant, and if they like it, they can purchase a candle that smells like Haven.
“We’re really wanting to be able to provide a lot of different things to attract people to come back into Haven,” Ross said. “Imagine they light their candle and they've had a good experience at Haven. That’s going to make them want to come back.”
Haven will be open from 11 a.m. to midnight Wednesdays and Thursdays; from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays; and from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays. Ross said that the owners hope to attract young professionals who want to wind down over dinner and drinks on Wednesday and Thursday nights. On Friday and Saturday nights, the restaurant will have a more elegant aesthetic with low lighting, and he hopes to draw in the date-night crowd.
They’re also planning to offer Haven, which seats 70, as a place where people can put on private events, business meetings and rehearsal dinners.
The space Haven is taking over has been empty since Todd Brian’s owner Chris Tincher vacated it nearly a year ago. Tincher then reopened his restaurant as Todd’s Creole Kitchen at the Tyler Pointe Development at 13th and Tyler.
People visiting Old Town Square became extra curious about Haven once the signs went up in early August, Ross said. People stick their heads in the door all the time asking when it will be open.
He’s beyond ready, he said, but he also wants to do things right the first time.
And that includes listening to his mother.
“You have all this pressure from your friends and family and the community because they’re so excited and they want you to be open,” he said. “And I want to be open. But we just have to make sure that we’re putting together the holistic picture so that people can really enjoy the experience, even from the beginning.”
Ross, who is 27, said that he decided to put his accounting career on pause to open Haven because he noticed that Wichita didn’t really have the kind of after-hours lounge he was looking for, he said. An East High School alumnus and University of Kansas graduate, Ross moved back to Wichita from Atlanta — where he’d been working as an accountant for Ernst & Young — at the start of 2023.
He previously was a part-owner in a bar and grill in Topeka that didn’t work out. He saw things at that restaurant he thought could have been done differently, but his role in that business was more passive. He decided he wanted to try a restaurant where he could be the decision maker.
When Haven has an official opening date, I’ll share it.
This story was originally published September 18, 2025 at 11:28 AM.
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