New Wichita restaurant will open next week in former Schlotzsky’s building

The long-vacant Schlotzsky’s building at 1140 S. Rock Road has a new coat of paint, and recently, signs for a new restaurant were added to it.

Back in March, Eliot McDonald announced that he and business partner Henry Panameno planned to open a Wichita location of their restaurant, The Coop Chicken Fingers. McDonald even declared at the time that his food was better than what’s served at popular chicken finger chain Raising Cane’s.

Now, opening day is almost here. McDonald said that his new restaurant will open the week of July 13. (He promised to share an exact date as soon as he had it.)

McDonald and Panameno opened their first location of the restaurant adjacent to the Iowa State University campus in Ames, Iowa, just before Thanksgiving 2025. When they decided to expand their concept, they targeted Kansas. Their second restaurant opened at 430 E. 30th Ave. in Hutchinson in May.

They chose Wichita for their third restaurant, McDonald said, when they saw how popular Raising Cane’s became after opening at 350 S. Ridge Road in June 2025. (Raising Cane’s is also planning to open a restaurant at Douglas and Rock in 2027).

People who try the food at The Coop, McDonald said, often tell him they like it better than Cane’s. And because he has less overhead, McDonald said, he’s able to sell his chicken finger meals for less than his competitors.

In addition to chicken fingers, spicy chicken fingers, fries and dipping sauces, The Coop offers milkshakes, chicken sandwiches and grilled cheese sandwiches.

The owners plan to open one more Wichita restaurant this year with an eventual goal of having three in the Wichita market. Next, they’ll focus on Oklahoma.

McDonald worked in chicken finger restaurants for seven years, including Raising Cane’s, Slim Chickens, and most recently Layne’s Chicken Fingers, a Texas-based chain, where he was director of operations. He was looking into becoming a Layne’s franchisee, but when that didn’t work out, he decided to do his own thing.

The restaurant’s hours will be 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. It will have a drive-through.

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.