Old Town Wichita getting two new nightclubs, both owned by onetime restaurateurs
Old Town Wichita is about to have two new nightclubs.
Signs have gone up over the past several weeks for both of the clubs. One, called Sin City Live, will open this weekend in a space on North Washington formerly occupied by a hair salon. The other, called LVL1, is set to take over a former office space on the backside of Old Chicago in Old Town Square. Its owners are still trying to line up all the inspections and licensing they’ll need to open.
Here are more details on both:
Sin City Live, 130 N. Washington: This club marks an Old Town expansion for Abel Rodriguez, previously known for owning Wichita’s Uno Mas restaurants. Three years ago, he opened Cabron y Vagos at 301 N. Washington, and originally, he intended it to be a part restaurant, part nightclub.
But as time went on, the nightclub side of the business became more popular, and Rodriguez decided to get out of the restaurant business. His club has since found a steady following, he said, and he draws different crowds on different nights, depending on what kind of music is being featured. The club frequently switches between Mexican bands, Latin music, R&B hits and country music.
Rodriguez — who now also has businesses in Oklahoma City and lives there during the week — decided he wanted another spot in Old Town so that he could draw two different crowds on the same night, and the former salon space came up. It sits just a few blocks south of Cabron y Vagos and is double the size. It also has a patio that Rodriguez said he’ll eventually enclose so that it can be used year round.
Sin City Live will have live bands, DJs and different events, just like Cabron y Vagos, he said. It will serve standard club drinks and will have lots of security. Rodriguez said that he is serious about security, which he believes has kept Cabron Y Vagos from having any serious incidents.
“In my mind, it’s security, security, security,” he said. “Per square footage, we have the most security on staff.”
Rodriguez said that Sin City Live also will have once-a-month weekend brunches put on by outside caterers. He also hopes to occasionally rent the city-owned parking lot to the north for special events like street parties and car shows.
Friday is opening day for Sin City, and its hours will be 9 p.m. to 1:30 or 2 a.m. Fridays through Sundays.
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LVL1, 300 N. Mead, suite 104: The owners of this future Old Town nightclub also are familiar to Wichita and include Adam Alkasasy and Raed Mansour, who have collaborated on past ventures such as revivals of Town & Country on West Kellogg, The Chalet and Heroes. They also ran a club called 6 Degrees and a club/restaurant called Clouds. (All have since closed.)
They’re not yet ready to talk about their new venture, Alkasasy said this week, because they’re still trying to secure the many city approvals it takes to turn a former office building into a nightclub. Previous tenants of the space have included McCownGordon Construction and Associated Integrated Marketing.
As soon as they get all the approvals, Alkasasy said, they’ll share more details. A construction permit for the space issued last week by Wichita’s Metropolitan Area Building and Construction Department says that the club will have “a bar, several raised seating platforms, a dj booth, dance floor and some general plumbing work for sinks. Drinks only will be served, no food...”
I’ll let you know more about the club when the owners are ready to share details.
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