First of two Wichita Graze Craze franchises to open Monday

The first of two new Graze Craze charcuterie businesses in Wichita is opening Monday.

Kristy and Kip Hawkins previously told Have You Heard? that everyone thought they were already in the food business with their Road Soup of Kansas, which is a recyclable asphalt repair distributorship that people regularly mistake for a food truck.

Now, they’ve also become franchisees of Graze Craze, a fast-growing Oklahoma City-based franchise with more than 30 sites either open or in the process of opening to sell charcuterie boards.

There will be at least two in Wichita. The first one is opening Monday near 21st and Ridge Road in the same center as Dandurand and Pho Chopstix. The second will be in Cambridge Market at 21st and Webb Road.

“I’d like to get it open before Thanksgiving,” Kip Hawkins said of that store.

Graze Craze will offer options as small as a single cup for a grab-and-go lunch up to large boards for catering and events.

There will be boards friendly to keto, vegetarian and gluten-free diets. There will be sweet boards with fruit and chocolate and a picnic platter for two to four people. The largest board will serve about a dozen people.

Each store will make dips and fresh bread in house. A signature chocolate bark with almonds will be made in Oklahoma. There also will be house-made pickles and add-on boxes.

The charcuterie meats are cured, so customers can buy boards and leave them out for hours. The boards are made out of recycled material, so customers don’t need to return them.

Store hours will be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday.

There’s nothing planned for future Graze Craze sites, but Hawkins said, “There may be more.”

This story was originally published October 12, 2022 at 1:48 PM.