Former Il Ponte partner to open Gyros and Paninis near Via Christi Hospital on Harry

WICHITA — Former Il Ponte partner Zahra Amro is about to be back in business.

Il Ponte, which had been at 3101 N. Rock Road since 2010, closed earlier this summer.

"Business wasn't doing that well," Amro says. "I don't know if it was the location."

Her new restaurant, Gyros and Paninis, will be more approachable than the more formal Il Ponte, Amro says.

"It's going to be more of a deli," she says of taking favorites from the Il Ponte menu.

"The customers appreciated the sandwiches more so than the other items we were offering."

The restaurant will be at 1555 N. Bluffview, which is next to Via Christi on St. Joseph.

Amro says Via Christi and Wesley Medical Center employees were some of Il Ponte's most frequent customers. She says she'll also still offer catering, which Amro says was a hit with pharmaceutical reps.

Gyros and Paninis will seat about 45 people but mostly focus on take-out business. There will be fish, chicken, beef, schwarma and fattoush salads, Amro says.

"The quality of the food is going to still be the same."

This story was originally published August 2, 2013 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Former Il Ponte partner to open Gyros and Paninis near Via Christi Hospital on Harry."