After a 2.5-year wait, this west Wichita restaurant is finally ready to go

It’s been a long wait for Wichita’s west side, but opening day for the Paris Baguette at 13th and Tyler is almost here.

Franchisee Mike Issa, who first announced plans for a west-side location of the restaurant in June 2023, said that the restaurant will open in the former Hardee’s space at 1320 N. Tyler on Saturday.

Issa and his business partner Moe Touffaha have been working on transforming the space for some time, and earlier this week, Issa shared photos from inside. They show lots of bakery cases, modern tables and chairs, and floors that are a mix of wood and black-and-white tile.

The new restaurant’s hours will be 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

Issa and Touffaha, who also are also IHOP franchisees, opened Wichita’s first Paris Baguette at 9780 E. 21st St. in November 2022 and shared plans for the west-side shop seven months later. After the announcement, though, they faced many delays.

Originally, they selected a piece of property on the northeast corner 29th and Ridge Road, where they planned to build a new strip center that would include the cafe. But once they’d moved dirt and were ready to start construction on the site, they realized that the city would require them to build farther back from the road than they’d planned, and with that change, the lot would be too small.

In September 2024, they announced that they’d found a new spot and that they would transform the building at 13th and Tyler that Hardee’s vacated in April 2023 into their new Paris Baguette. Construction delays and other projects kept them from completing the restaurant until now.

Initially, the partners had hoped to utilize the building’s drive-through window, but they’ve since decided against it, Issa said. The restaurant will have a small front patio for seating.

Paris Baguette, which started in South Korea in 1988, specializes in French-inspired cakes and pastries and also serves sandwiches and salads as well as a line of coffee and tea. Issa and Touffaha fell in love with the concept during their travels to New York City.

This story was originally published December 3, 2025 at 5:09 AM.

Denise Neil

The Wichita Eagle

316-268-6327

Denise Neil has covered restaurants and entertainment since 1997. Her Dining with Denise Facebook page is the go-to place for diners to get information about local restaurants. She’s a regular judge at local food competitions and speaks to groups all over Wichita about dining.