There’s a new restaurant coming to the former Le Monde space in west Wichita

Yemen native Zeckarya Wasel moved to the United States in 2017 seeking business opportunities, and though he found a lot of places he liked, he said Wichita seemed to be the best market for a new business.

“Wichita supports small businesses.”

Wasel said he particularly saw that when Le Monde Cafe & Deli owner Lilas Krichati announced she was closing the 30-year restaurant on West Street just south of Central.

“I did see the support when they were closing,” Wasel said.

He’s now planning to open Blazin Halal Food in the space in the next three to four months.

“Our motto will be healthy, fast and halal,” Wasel said.

He said halal means the food is prepared by Islamic standards, meaning there’s no pork or alcohol involved, and is ethically prepared with humanely raised cattle and chicken.

“It also means the food is natural and not processed like most fast food here,” Wasel said. “I want people to get the chance to try it.”

He plans what he called healthy and delicious dishes such as beef or chicken shawarma over rice or salad and sandwiches on pita bread.

“I realized Wichita doesn’t have a variety of halal food options,” Wasel said.

He plans to offer dine-in service and a drive-through for healthy options to go, which he said there aren’t a lot of in that area.

Andrea Ray of Landmark Commercial Real Estate handled the deal for the space.

Wasel has had other business interests since moving to the United States, but he said he wanted a restaurant “because everybody likes food.”

During his travels around the country, Wasel said he made contacts through his family and now has support for the restaurant, which he hopes to make a chain.

“I’m planning to go across the country,” he said.

“Hopefully this is where it all starts.”

This story was originally published February 24, 2025 at 4:04 AM.