African restaurant opens in new space Friday in west Wichita

Bchic Bar & Grill has been closed since late January, but Friday it reopens in its new space at Northwest Centre at 13th and Tyler.

“We needed . . . more exposure,” owner Beatrice Forchu said.

She said she likes the traffic count at the Occidental Management property.

The Cameroon native opened her restaurant, which focuses on African and Caribbean cuisine, last year at 6600 W. Central.

Forchu said Cameroon is a mixture of a lot of parts of Africa.

“The flavors are different,” she said.

Bchic offers a variety of grilled meats and fish and various types of rice. Forchu also serves something called fufu, which is similar to mashed potatoes with a thicker consistency.

There are some dishes that Forchu acknowledged are especially unusual for the average Wichita diner. That includes egusi soup, which is pureed pumpkin seeds.

There is pepper soup with goat meat, fish or whatever protein a diner chooses.

Forchu said she encourages potential diners to “let their taste buds try something new.”

“You know, they could start off with appetizers,” she said.

There are more common items such as bacon-wrapped shrimp and puff puffs, a pastry served with either powdered sugar, caramel or chocolate.

Some of the Caribbean items, such as jerk chicken, are maybe more familiar to diners as well. The jerk also is served with oxtail.

Forchu said she also has a variety of beers and cocktails.

“We do catering as well,” she said.

Occidental broker Nick Flores helped Forchu find her new space.

The restaurant, which has about 65 seats, is introducing new hours with the new location.

Hours will be 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Thursday, noon to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon to 8 p.m. on Sunday.

This story was originally published March 29, 2023 at 9:57 AM.