A Union Station kiosk is doing so well, it’s moving to a larger space with seats, too

There’s one time a landlord doesn’t mind losing a tenant, and that’s when the tenant asks for larger space in the same development.

That’s what Wichita Cheesecake Co. owners Mark and Grace Daniels have done at Occidental Management’s Union Station development downtown.

After two years in one of the kiosks in front of Union Station, the business is moving just west to where Scooter’s used to be in the former Grand Hotel space next to Cargill.

“Obviously, we’re excited,” said Occidental president Chad Stafford. “We love it because it means we’ve got somebody who’s growing.”

That’s especially good “in a very difficult economic climate.”

Since the Cheesecake Co. is mostly carryout, the pandemic didn’t hurt the business as much as some, although it still affected it, particularly with wholesale orders from restaurants.

That small space is what’s now prompting the move.

“We just know that there’s more opportunity in the market,” said Mark Daniels.

To hire more people and add more equipment, Daniels said they need that extra space. Also, it will seat 22, so they plan to increase their offerings to become more of a traditional bake shop where people can pop in for muffins, scones and a full coffee line.

The point is it “means you’re actually able to sell more,” Daniels said.

Up till now, the main star of the menu has been cheesecake, which comes in 33 flavors.

“We have, we think, a little bit for everybody,” Daniels said.

He has a degree in fiance and was working for Coca-Cola with no plans to open a restaurant, and Grace Daniels had been baking cheesecakes for friends and family for a couple of decades.

“It was kind of the ongoing insistence of other people: ‘Hey, you should do that,’ ” that led to the restaurant, Mark Daniels said.

The Cheesecake Co. will move in late May or early June.

Occidental’s Nick Flores and Chris Harmon handled the deal for the new space.

Daniels said he and his wife would love to one day open more sites around Wichita, but they’re going to focus on this one for now.

“We would definitely like to get it right.”

This story was originally published April 13, 2021 at 11:21 AM.