There’s an auction sign posted outside, but this Wichita restaurant is still open
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- Building housing Margarita’s Cantina is for sale, but business remains open.
If you drive past Wichita Mexican restaurant Margarita’s Cantina over the next several weeks and notice a giant sign advertising an auction posted in front, don’t get confused.
The owners of the 33-year-old business at 3109 E. Douglas — Jon Wood and Jesse Lee — are concerned that customers will see the just-posted auction sign on their building and assume that the business itself is for sale or that it is closed.
But that is not the case, Lee said.
J.P. Weigand is auctioning just the building that Margarita’s occupies at 3109 E. Douglas (as well as the tiny vacant building attached to it at 3111 E. Douglas). The online-only auction started today, and bidding will close on Oct. 21. But the auction does not include the business itself or its name.
Wood and Lee, who bought Margarita’s in 2021 from founder Don Overstake, will still own the business and say it will continue operating as normal through the sale. They’re assuming that whoever buys the building will honor their lease, which runs through April 2026.
The building that houses the restaurant was owned by the late Darrell Leason, a commercial real estate broker in Wichita who died in 2016 at age 87. The building has been tied up in probate, and now Leason’s heirs want to sell it. Leason was Wood’s grandfather.
Wood and Lee knew that the auction signs would be placed on their building but they thought it would be made clear that the business itself was not included in the sale. They’ve put out their own signs that say the restaurant is still open, but they’re still concerned people will get the wrong idea.
The two plan to continue operating Margarita’s and say they’ll know more about whether they’ll be able to stay in the building past the end of their lease when they meet whoever buys it.
Overstake opened Margarita’s Cantina on July 22, 1992, and it became known not only for its sour cream enchiladas but also as a place where people could dance the weekend away to the music of Overstake’s band, Lotus.
The band continued to perform on weekends at the restaurant even after the sale, but last summer, Lee and Wood decided to stop having live bands inside the restaurant and focus on the food. Lotus, by that time, had already stopped playing as a group, Lee said.
Lee said he’d provide an update about the restaurant’s future after the sale closes. Until then, customers should assume it’s business as usual at Margarita’s. Its hours are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays; and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. The restaurant is closed on Sundays.
This story was originally published September 19, 2025 at 2:35 PM.
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