Brazilian eatery to open on North Rock

An international company with ties to a Brazilian restaurant group is bringing a new franchise concept to the United States and opening its first restaurant in Wichita this spring.

"Wichita is a good lab," says Alberto Moreira , who is bringing Bossa Grill to Northrock Retail Center at 3242 N. Rock Road.

Moreira points to Wichita as the successful home to franchises like Pizza Hut and White Castle .

"It's a good test market for a restaurant."

Moreira and Wichita business attorney Michael Biggs are partners in Bossa Group International with several Brazilians who are owners of TAC Comercio Alimenticio .

That company has 80 restaurants in Brazil, including the Bonaparte and Donatario concepts that are the inspiration for Bossa Grill.

"We're taking what works in Brazil, and we're adapting it for use... in American markets," Biggs says.

Biggs has spent three decades handling restaurant and franchise deals. He's also done international law.

"It was a perfect fit," he says.

Moreira says Bossa Grill will be a fast-casual restaurant with a style similar to Pei Wei , where customers order at a counter and then are served at a table.

He says all meals, which include grill items such as chicken or fish and side dishes, will be delivered within five to seven minutes.

Biggs says it might be more helpful to say what the restaurant isn't.

It won't be an Argentinean steak house, and it won't have Mexican food.

"Brazilian food is really Southern European food with South American influences," he says.

Entrees will be fairly light and in some cases quite healthy.

"It's really different than any other restaurant than we've got here," Biggs says.

"We think it's timely.... Nationally, there's an interest people have in ethnic food."

Also, Biggs says, "Fast casual is really where we think the present and the future is in the restaurant industry."

Moreira will run the first restaurant here and has plans for a couple more in Wichita, including one on the west side.

Leisa Lowry of J.P. Weigand & Sons represents Bossa Group.

Brady Miller of Occidental Management , which owns Northrock Retail Center, handled the lease for Occidental.

The first restaurant will seat about 90 and may have an outdoor patio as well.

Biggs says TAC's concepts evolved out of airports and shopping centers.

"They've just developed a business model that's very efficient."

He says that will make the business appealing to potential franchisees.

Biggs says he already has franchisee prospects in Canada, the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area and Miami.

"Our store's what you call a beta," Biggs says of the Wichita Bossa Grill.

When the concept is fine-tuned and the administrative infrastructure is in place, Biggs says, "Then we'll move right into franchising."

Willowbend sale is off

After much negotiation, the sale of Willowbend Golf Club is off.

"Things didn't work out," says Rick Nuckolls , who owns Willowbend with his brother, Rod .

Bert and Eloise Henderson , who are selling their Echo Hills Golf Club in Park City, had planned to buy Willowbend.

"We just decided it wasn't going to work out best for our family," says the Hendersons' daughter, Cheryl Greiving .

Earlier this week, it looked like the deal was completely off, but as late as Tuesday afternoon, the Hendersons were still considering the purchase.

Then Bert Henderson met with the Nuckolls brothers Wednesday morning and said he would pass on the purchase.

"There were a lot of dominoes in place that had to happen to make this thing work, so apparently one of the dominoes fell the other way," Rick Nuckolls says.

"It was very amicable, very professional," he says. "Everything is fine, and we wish them the best of luck."

The Hendersons still plan to close Echo Hills in January.

Mike Loveland, a broker at J.P. Weigand & Sons and the developer of Parkstone at College Hill , plans to use the Echo Hills land for a new commercial project in Park City.

Greiving says her family is looking at several investment options with the proceeds from the sale of Echo Hills.

"Otherwise taxes will eat us alive," she says.

The Hendersons have looked at several properties to buy, including other golf courses.

However, Greiving says her father "is thinking maybe we don't need the rigors of running a golf course."

Rick Nuckolls says he isn't working on another possible sale of Willowbend.

"At this point, no," he says. "We're happy to be here."

Nuckolls adds that, though he doesn't have the details nailed yet, "We've got some exciting things coming that we're going to announce soon."

Southern style

Melvin Watson is returning to his roots and bringing a bit of home with him.

The Winfield native, who grew up in Wichita, is opening My Dad's BBQ and Southern Catering at 13th and Cleveland by late next week.

The inspiration for the name came from a question some friends had. They asked what Watson's favorite food is, and he answered: "My dad's barbecue."

Most recently, he's been a private chef in Los Angeles. Before that, he had an Italian restaurant, Della Voce , in Manhattan.

His new restaurant will be mostly carryout, though there will be seating for 14.

It's almost like you're visiting my own home kitchen," Watson says.

Initially, he'll offer what he calls standard barbecue fare, like brisket, ribs and sausage.

But Watson says he wants to offer a healthier twist on some traditional dishes, particularly in the new year.

He also plans to offer natural products like beef from Creekstone Farms out of Arkansas City.

Watson hopes to one day franchise the restaurant, but for now he's happy to contribute to the area around 13th and Cleveland.

"I... enjoy the spirit of the people in that neighborhood and how they're redeveloping that neighborhood."

All will be revealed

Paul Teutul Jr.' s customized Coleman RoadTrip Grill will make its fourth and final appearance on tonight's episode of "American Chopper "on TLC at 8 p.m.

"The story to some extent has already played out in Wichita," says Jeff Willard , Coleman's senior vice president of global marketing and new product development.

He's referring to Teutul's July visit here where he unveiled the grill.

Now, Willard says, "They're going to reveal the grill to the rest of the world."

Then Teutul is going on a nationwide tour to promote it.

The entire experience with Teutul has boosted Coleman's grill business, Willard says, and is something the company would like to do again.

"This is something that is fairly unique for us in recent times," he says of working with a celebrity.

Many years back, Coleman worked with the Little Rascals , among others.

And Willard says the partnerships have not been limited to human celebrities.

"I'm told we did something with Rin Tin Tin a long time ago."

You don't say

"It kind of puts you in your place."

—Wichita State University president Don Beggs , who was humbled Wednesday when a Sunflower student reporter didn't know who he was or how to spell his name

This story was originally published December 3, 2009 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Brazilian eatery to open on North Rock."