Two national restaurant chains will open two miles apart on Wichita’s west side
A couple of national chains that have found success on the east side of town will expand into west Wichita next year. Both have applied for building permits with the Metropolitan Area Building and Construction department, and they’ll be opening only about 2 miles from each other.
One is Hawaiian Bros, which first arrived in Wichita in November 2024. Zach Fugate, who is the president of Ohana Restaurant Group LLC, confirmed that the west-side restaurant is planned for 10291 W. 37th St. North, which is north of the Menards and east of the Kwik Shop at 37th and Maize Road.
Fugate said that he hopes the new Hawaiian Bros will be open by early spring. The west-side restaurant will be slightly smaller than the one on the east side, he said, but it will have the same basic setup and will include a drive-through and a separate pickup area for third-party food delivery drivers.
The east-side Hawaiian Bros has done well, he said.
“It’s our top performing store of all our stores,” he said.
Fugate, himself a west sider, said he’s heard from many people who like the restaurant but live on the west side and say they want one closer.
Though Ohana Restaurant Group has only a two-unit deal with Hawaiian Bros for the Wichita area, they’d consider building another one — possibly somewhere like Derby — if the west-side location does well, Fugate said. The group is also busy putting up Hawaiian Bros restaurants in Oklahoma City; in Norman, Oklahoma; in Edmond, Oklahoma; and in Springfield, Missouri.
Hawaiian Bros specializes in the Hawaiian plate lunch — a staple in Hawaii that is most often found on roadside stands or hole-in-the-wall restaurants. Plate lunches typically come with different types of protein, a serving of mayo-based macaroni salad, and two scoops of white rice.
A west-side Firebirds
The other expanding chain appears to be Firebirds Wood Fired Grill, a chain that was started by onetime Wichitan and Lone Star Steakhouse founder Dennis Thompson and some partners 25 years ago in Charlotte. Wichita’s Firebirds opened in 2013 at the Waterfront and has been a staple restaurant at the development ever since.
Now, it looks like the west side of town will be getting its own Firebirds. Though the company has not returned multiple messages inquiring about the addition, a permit was issued by the MABC on Monday for construction of a Firebirds at 2824 N. Maize Road. The address is southwest of the Hobby Lobby at 29th and Maize.
Firebirds, which refers to its style as “polished casual,” serves steaks and other wood-fired dishes including fish, seafood, chicken and burgers. The chain has been owned since 2023 by New York investment firm Garnett Station Partners. Today, it has 70 restaurants across the country.
This story was originally published December 1, 2025 at 4:23 AM.
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