Towne East Square tenant to move to its new space outside of the mall this week

If you didn’t know the building at 8030 E. Kellogg just east of Rock Road was a former Denny’s restaurant, it would be hard to tell it now.

Riddle’s Jewelry, which is leaving Towne East Square, is opening in the 4,000-square-foot space on Saturday.

The store’s last day in business at the mall is Monday, and the transition to the new space begins on Tuesday.

“It’s going to be a lot more convenient for people,” said manager Binh Nguyen.

In addition to what he calls easy parking at the store’s door, he said Riddle’s is hiring more goldsmiths and other employees for fast turnaround service.

The current Riddle’s is less than 1,000 square feet, so Nguyen said there is going to be a lot of new merchandise as well, including some higher-end jewelry and watch lines.

He said imagine a whole Denny’s restaurant filled with jewelry, “but there’s no pancakes there this time.”

The family-owned South Dakota chain has more than 60 stores nationally. Riddle’s sells all kinds of jewelry and watches with an emphasis on bridal jewelry. Pandora will have its own section in the new store. The store also offers repairs and in-house custom designs.

Patrick Ahern and Troy Farha of NAI Martens handled the deal for the new space.

Even though the new space is larger, Nguyen said in some ways it’s more intimate and private than the mall space.

Hours will expand to 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily except for Sundays, which will be noon to 5 p.m.

Binh said the chain would like to expand to the west side and northeast Wichita as well. Look for more information on those stores in the next couple of years.