One of the best restaurant patios in Wichita is about to get a $1 million expansion

This week’s miserable weather put an abrupt end to patio time at Wichita restaurants, but when bad weather strikes next year, Chester’s Chophouse & Wine Bar will be ready to keep its patio open full time.

“What we’re going for is to make that patio . . . be the focal point of our restaurant,” said general manager Jim Poulson.

It’s been a year since Georges French Bistro owner George Youssef and his friend and financial backer Doug Rippel purchased Chester’s at the Waterfront.

“We have this beautiful patio on the lake,” Youssef said.

His goal is to make that space as usable as the rest of the restaurant. He’ll add 120 seats outside for a total of 300 throughout the restaurant.

Youssef plans to enclose the existing patio with movable glass doors and add heat and air conditioning.

“It will give you the luxury in the wintertime of still seeing the scenery outside,” he said.

He’ll also add a patio off of the private room in the back of the restaurant and replace some walls around the restaurant with glass so people inside can almost feel like they’re outside.

There will be a new outside bar as well. Youssef plans to keep the existing patio’s fireplace and add a fire pit for what he calls an outdoor cigar lounge.

Most of what is now a grassy area beyond the existing patio will be covered in cement for more dining space, but Youssef said he’ll add a lot of greenery as well.

Also, he said, “Lighting is very essential.”

The project, which will cost about $1 million, will take five months to complete. It will start in January or February.

It may seem like a big step for someone who now owns two restaurants amid a pandemic, but Youssef said business has been good despite losing a lot of business travelers who frequented Chester’s during the week.

“Since we lost that clientele, we gained the locals,” he said.

Poulson said the ever-changing business is something he has to keep up with weekly if not daily.

“We are missing our business travel, which does carry our weekday business,” he said.

“It’s been very challenging as far as that goes, but there’s been a new energy,” Poulson said of the new ownership and new customers.

Youssef said a lot of new people are trying the restaurant. He said Chester’s and Georges share about 70% of the same clientele.

Poulson said they’re trying to create a culture of a restaurant that people regularly frequent during the week.

“We’re not just a special-occasion place.”

Youssef said he’s thankful for loyal customers who continue to return to the restaurants “during this corona thing.”

Look for more information and a tour of the new patio closer to when it opens.

This story was originally published October 28, 2020 at 2:37 PM.