Old Mike’s Steak House spot in Wichita is about to get a new restaurant tenant
The building on South Broadway that’s best known as the longtime home of Mike’s Steak House is about to get a new tenant.
David Espinoza, a longtime restaurateur and associate of Molino’s owners Mario Quiroz and Mara Garza, is about to open a new restaurant in the space at 2131 S. Broadway that he’ll call Davito’s Kitchen & Bakery. He hopes to have it open sometime next week.
The most recent tenant of the space, Kelly’s Family Diner, operated there from 2017 until last October, when the owner Kelly Wilson relocated the restaurant to the old Thao’s Bistro space at 1825 S. Broadway, a few blocks to the north.
The restaurant will have a unique, two-sided menu: One side will feature “country cooking” breakfast items like chicken fried steak, pancakes, omelets and homemade cinnamon rolls, which Espinoza is known for. The other side will feature Mexican fare.
The restaurant’s hours will be 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4:30 to 7 p.m. It will be a full-service restaurant with waiters and waitresses.
Espinoza just closed his Belle Plaine restaurant called David’s Diner and leased the building to Lori Klein, owner of The Mystic Kitchen. She recently moved her restaurant from her previous home at 402 N. Merchant in Belle Plaine to the larger David’s Diner space at 203 W. Fifth Ave. and is serving weekday lunch and dinner specials plus an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet on the third Saturday of each month.
Espinoza said he wanted to move his business to Wichita because it has more room for growth. He’s worked for the owners of the Kelly’s building, John Lee — who also owns The Beacon at 909 E. Douglas and owned Don’s Restaurant at 1546 S. Broadway before it closed in 2020.
They suggested the Kelly’s building to Espinoza, who at first was worried that it was too big. But he ultimately decided it would work.
“Here in Belle Plaine, I loved my place,” he said. “But I was a little comfortable. There’s no way I can grow anymore, and I want to do catering. There are a lot of festivals in Wichita that I can’t attend because I’m too far.”
Frequent visitors of the Bartlett Arboretum in Belle Plaine may recognize Espinoza: He’s one of the venue’s frequent food vendors.
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