Downtown development signs on a new restaurant tenant, set to open this summer

Soon, the downtown HomeGrown will no longer have to carry the weight of being the only restaurant in the Naftger Park area.

On Thursday, a Florida-based pizza chain called Stoner’s Pizza Joint confirmed that it would be expanding into the Wichita market and would open a restaurant in one of the buildings near the park.

Zach Zerbe, who handled the deal for Landmark Commercial Real Estate, said that the restaurant would take over a Douglas-facing space on the northeast corner of the Naftzger Square development. Its spot is suite 107, which is two doors east of the Eric Fisher Studio that opened in early 2020.

Construction on the new restaurant should start sometime next month, Zerbe said, and the franchisee hopes to have the restaurant open this summer. It will utilize the space in front of the restaurant for patio seating.

In a statement shared with The Wichita Eagle, a Stoner’s Pizza Joint spokesperson said that the chain was excited about the growth in downtown Wichita, which made it an ideal location for its brand.

Stoner’s Pizza Joint was founded near Savannah in 2013 and began rapid expansion last July. The chain now has more than 50 restaurants in Georgia, Florida, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Texas and Colorado.

Though it was actually named for the stone oven in which the restaurant’s pizzas were baked, the chain has embraced a tongue-in-cheek marijuana theme: Signs that are dripping with double meaning are printed on the restaurants’ walls and read “legalize marinara,” “own a joint” and “get baked.”

The restaurants focus on fresh, never-frozen ingredients and serve pizzas, stromboli, smoked chicken wings, salads and desserts. Its restaurants offer a value menu that allows customers to pay $6.99 then choose two items from a menu that includes 10-inch, one-topping pizzas, cheese sticks, pepperoni rolls and cookies.

Stay tuned for more information as the opening gets closer.

This story was originally published April 16, 2026 at 2:22 PM.

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.