New tenant of Le Monde space to open with double drive-through, late-night hours
The old Le Monde space on West Street has a new restaurant tenant that’s just weeks away from opening. And the building also has a new blazing-red paint job, inside and out.
Zeckarya Wasel, a 25-year-old first-time restaurateur who hails from Yemen, is putting the finishing touches on his new Blazin Halal Food and plans to open it to the public on Nov. 7. He doesn't have the details finalized yet, he said, but he plans to give away free food for a year to an opening-day customer.
Wasel has added a double drive-through to the old Le Monde space and says he plans to keep the restaurant open late into the evening. To start, his hours will be 10 a.m. to midnight daily. If he feels like customers want it, he said, he may extend closing time to 3 a.m.
Blazin Halal Food will serve platters and wraps featuring chicken and beef prepared according to Islamic standards. Pork is not halal, so it won’t be on the menu, but Wasel said he’s experimenting with non-pork bacon.
He’s not ready to share the menu yet but has said it will include things like beef and chicken shawarma over rice or salad plus pita wraps. It’ll also include smoothies.
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Wasel, who moved to the United States in 2017 looking for business opportunities, said that he’s serious about listening to his customers. If they say they want something different at the restaurant, he’ll make changes.
“I want to be clear: This menu is a starting point,” he said. “It’s not going to be the final draft. It was designed for Wichita, and it will be perfected by Wichita. Our mission is to create the best customer experience in the city, and if the community tells us to change the entire menu in a few months, we will consider that.”
Customers will be able to eat inside the restaurant— which now has that bright red paint on the walls. The dining room will have fewer seats than it did during its LeMonde days: The front section will be reserved for to-go business. People who want to stay and eat can order at the counter and take a seat in the south dining area.
Wasel first announced his plans to take over the LeMonde space in February, and at the time, he thought he’d be open within three or four months. But he faced delays when he found problems with the building, including leaks during the summer’s heavy rains.
That’s all fixed now, he said, and he’s excited for opening day.
“I want to thank everyone in Wichita for their patience and their excitement,” he said. “The journey to open has been more challenging than I ever expected. We’ve been hit with significant structural issues and it’s caused some unavoidable delays. It was a major setback, but my commitment is to do it the right way and not just fast.”
LeMonde closed in January after 30 years in business at the West Street address. In September 2024, co-owner and longtime manager, Ghassan “Gus” Hajeh sued the other owner. Lilas Krichati, for breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract and fraud. (Krichati’s lawyer called the situation a misunderstanding.)
The case is still winding its way through the courts, and there’s been no resolution.
This story was originally published October 17, 2025 at 11:11 AM.
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