After opening, business learned it’s not allowed in Old Town, but it may get to stay

Thanh Do strategically chose Old Town last year when he was opening Afterlife Tattooz.

“It’s in the middle of everywhere,” he said. “You’ve got to be centralized.”

Only after opening in part of the former First Gear space at 111 N. Mosley did he learn from the city that he’s operating in violation of the unified zoning code.

There’s a special overlay district on top of the standard zoning district that does not allow tattoo parlors or piercing studios in the area.

“They’ve been giving us notice to get out,” Do said.

He said the city has given him extensions, though, as it considers changing the code. Do said he can remain “until they settled that once and for all.”

Wichita-Sedgwick County Metropolitan Area Planning Department director Scott Wadle said the city sought feedback from the Old Town Association, which supports the business.

“We have a whole lot of zoning overlay rules in Old Town that are just simply outdated,” said association president Debra Fraser. “Things are just evolving.”

She said she learned that years ago, there was an issue with tattoo parlors keeping the same hours as area bars.

“So they were staying open late with the bars, and there was a lot of shared business,” Fraser said. “It wasn’t popular with the people who were trying to build Old Town back as a business district.”

The association told the city it was open to making an exception for Afterlife Tattooz, but the city then said it couldn’t be a mere exception. It said the code had to change or remain the same.

The association’s board voted to support a change to the overlay district with certain parameters in place, such as limiting the hours for tattoo and piercing establishments.

Based on that feedback, Wadle said staff is recommending an amendment to the overlay district to allow tattoo parlors in Old Town. The planning commission will consider the issue on Thursday and then send a recommendation to the Wichita City Council.

The city has notified businesses within the district and surrounding properties in case anyone wants to comment at Thursday’s meeting.

Do said his landlord wasn’t aware tattoo parlors aren’t currently allowed.

“That’s what baffled me,” he said. “Nobody really knew nothing about this.”

Do said he does not want to have to move, particularly because he shares space with a couple of other businesses, all of which share customers.

He and Tyler Crane own Fire Flame, a vape and snack shop that also sells art, and Blake Lashley’s All Things Hype shoe store also is on the same lease.

“It all helps each other,” he said.

Do is in the process of changing the name of his business to Alife Studio to focus more on the artistic aspect of tattoos.

“Tattoo has changed a lot,” he said. “It’s not frowned upon anymore. . . . It is a high-class expression for people.”

Fraser said the city hasn’t brought up any other possible zoning changes, but the association is open to it.

“There are just a lot of rules . . . that we feel restrict businesses coming into the district, and that’s not a policy that we’d like to have.”

This story was originally published July 25, 2023 at 4:47 AM.