Peace Love & Pie wagon debuts in two weeks, but what about the pie shops?

Jon Rolph and his Thrive Restaurant Group are excited to kick off their new Peace Love & Pie concept, but it’s not come without a bit of heartburn, too.

The first pie shop will be next to Thrive’s planned HomeGrown restaurant in the Spaghetti Works District, which Rolph says is appealing in part because of how the two businesses will open onto the adjacent park with patios.

“We fell in love with the idea of Naftzger Park (and) what it means to the city, kind of what it means to energizing that part of town,” Rolph says. “Where we chose to launch was really important to us. That was very thoughtful.”

However, even though the fenced patios — including a third for the Hairy Sofa Pet Grooming Boutique — have been planned for some time, some park board and Wichita City Council members were surprised by the leases.

Earlier this month, The Eagle reported that the proposed patio lease agreements were on the council’s consent agenda, where routine items are approved without discussion.

Then council member Bryan Frye asked that the leases be placed on the regular agenda. He also requested a map so he could see how the businesses would affect the park space.

Council member Brandon Johnson, who represents the area, said he also wanted to see the map before a vote.

Following the story, Rolph says some people misunderstood the patios.

“People had this impression that we were being given land that belonged to the public.”

He says that’s what caused him the heartburn.

Rolph will pay to lease the patios, and he says that money will be used for park maintenance. He says he likes the idea of the leases helping to keep the park strong. He says it’s a symbiotic relationship.

The issue goes before the park board Wednesday and council next week.

“I’m hopeful . . . they’ll remember the intent and the design of the park to have this activated edge that brings liveliness and energy to the park all day . . . and complements the activities of the park,” Rolph says. “It makes so much sense.”

He says he’s heard from hundreds of people who are excited to be able to dine and watch their children play in the park.

“The idea was we could bring commerce to that edge of the park that brought life and energy to it and engage people all through the day,” Rolph says.

He says the original Shake Shack was in a New York park.

Rolph says there are a lot of private restaurants in public parks.

“You actually see it all over the world.”

He says he wants HomeGrown and Peace Love & Pie to be part of the day-to-day life of the park.

“We’re hopeful for a positive outcome, but not having patio space that can engage the park will have us re-evaluating.”

Rolph says Peace Love & Pie’s theme is “enjoy the journey,” so he thinks it fits well being part of a park.

He’s also working on an east-side site most likely at Bradley Fair.

“We’ve enjoyed a great experience at Bradley Fair with HomeGrown,” Rolph says.

He’s looking west as well.

Before the Peace Love & Pie sites are ready, the brand will debut with a food truck, though Rolph calls it a wagon.

“We’ve converted an old VW bus,” he says. “It was a rusty old thing.”

He says it had to be towed from Lawrence.

“It didn’t even run.”

Now, he says, it’s been “turned it into this beautiful pie wagon.”

However beautiful Clementine is — she’s named for her orange paint — she still has a few issues like any old VW bus.

“It just caught on fire last week,” Rolph says.

Dripping oil sparked a fire.

Fortunately and perhaps ironically, retired firefighter Jay Tully — husband of Thrive director of brand innovation Beth Tully — was with it at the time so the damage was minimal.

“Jay in many ways is our hero and has once again stepped in,” Rolph says.

Clementine will debut in two weeks so customers will have plenty of time to try the pies before the holidays, Rolph says.

He’s not sure where the first stop will be, but Rolph says Clementine is “going to be all over town.”