Hungry for dinner? These Wichita restaurants now serve it in addition to breakfast, lunch

Two restaurants that previously have been open only for breakfast and lunch are now serving dinner, too.

Doo-Dah Diner started first.

The downtown restaurant, best known for its often decadent breakfast dishes, is now open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for all meals and serves its entire menu all day.

“The lunch side of our menu seems to get used a little bit more at dinner time,” said Timirie Shibley, who owns Doo-Dah with her husband, Patrick.

“It’s allowed people to expand a little bit past breakfast.”

Traditionally, Doo-Dah has served dinner only once a year on Fat Tuesday for a Cajun feast. Shibley said a surplus of staffing is what allowed for the dinner option.

Doo-Dah is closed Monday and Tuesday and still open for breakfast and lunch on Sunday, though it no longer offers its buffet.

“The amount of waste that we were throwing away from the brunch was just obscene with the cost of food these days,” Shibley said.

For instance, the restaurant went through seven cases of bacon for the brunch buffet but now uses more like four on most Sundays.

Shibley said with food prices, such as eggs that cost more than $80 a case, “The whole all-you-can-eat just doesn’t make sense in today’s times.”

Magnolia Cafe, which opened on Mother’s Day, now is offering dinner service as well.

Initially, owner Jeremy Wade said he thought he’d use the space at 2424 N. Woodlawn for private parties in the evenings.

“They’re not as consistent as a dinner service would be,” he said.

He said he wants his staff to have more options to make money.

“Plus, we’ve had a lot of people say, ‘When are you going to open for dinner?’ ”

He’s also cutting out breakfasts during the week.

Magnolia now is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. On Saturday, it’s open for brunch from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and then dinner from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday is brunch only from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Wade said he’s also going to start offering Southern fried chicken family dinners with sides to go.

“The popularity of fried chicken is high.”

At his Napoli Italian Eatery near 37th and Rock Road, Wade offers lasagna meals to go that include salad, garlic bread and mini cannolis.

“It’s been a big hit.”

This story was originally published January 16, 2023 at 5:23 AM.