Wichita restaurant space that has been vacant a year will soon have a new tenant
.jpg "The former Fonda La Chona restaurant near Pawnee and Seneca will soon be home to Wichita’s second location of Birria Estilo Zacatecas.")
The restaurant space at 1210 W. Pawnee that’s been vacant since Mexican restaurant Fonda La Chona went out of business last year is about to get a new tenant.
Birria Estilo Zacatecas, which opened its first Wichita location just before Thanksgiving in the old Noble House/Angela’s Cafe space at 2119 W. 21st St., will open its next Wichita restaurant in the building, which sits near Pawnee and Seneca.
Alex Ibarra of ReeceNichols South Central Kansas handled the deal.
The new restaurant will be the eighth for the Albuquerque-based chain, which got its start before the COVID-19 pandemic and has recently been expanding.
It serves birria tacos, birria ramen, burritos, quesadillas and lots of other Mexican dishes. The focus of the restaurant is Zacatecas-style birria, which is a slow-cooked beef stew that originated in the Mexican state of Zacatecas, in north-central Mexico. There, the dish is often served on special occasions.
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The new restaurant will have a drive-through as well as dine-in space. I’ve reached out to the owners about when the restaurant might be open and will update this post when I hear back.
Before the building at 1210 W. Pawnee was taken over by Fonda La Chona, it was home to Jimmy’s Egg, and before that, it operated as a Church’s Chicken. It was built in 1995 to house a Boston Market.
Birria Estilo Zacatecas menu
This story was originally published December 16, 2025 at 12:13 PM.
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