There’s a new concept coming to the former Blu Nightclub at Maple and Tyler
.jpeg "If you’re not familiar with K-Box karaoke, you’ll get to hear it this summer when Senuar opens out west in the former Blu Nightclub space at Maple and Tyler.")
Before sitting empty the past few years, the Blu Nightclub was a fixture at the southeast corner of Maple and Tyler for years.
Finally, a new business will be opening there.
Alex McIntosh, who owns the WindhamCourt apartments next door, is opening Senuar. He called it a type of listening lounge and tapas bar.
McIntosh said the name Senuar is derived from Latin. There’s not an exact translation, but he said it’s a way of saying the word serenade.
He chose that word because there will be lots of karaoke serenades with a concept called K-Box karaoke, which sometimes is referred to as Kbox, K box or KBOX.
“That’s the main feature of the venue,” McIntosh said.
He said it’s popular on the West Coast, where he lives when not in Wichita.
There will be five private karaoke rooms for rent and one main lounge where customers can perform karaoke with other members of the public.
McIntosh said he’s planning an all-ages, upscale business.
He’s in the middle of updating the space now.
Though he’d prefer to open next month, McIntosh said it’s likely to be a few months before he can.
He said he’s already hired Kristopher Anderson, a well-known Wichita chef who has worked at various restaurants and other venues around Wichita.
The bar will have alcohol and sell light fare.
There will be more information on rental rates and food offerings closer to the opening.
McIntosh said he only recently had his first K-Box experience on the West Coast, and he loved it.
“I gotta tell ya, it was such a great experience,” he said. “It was a wonderful, wonderful, soulful experience, I’ll say.”
By opening his own place at the property, McIntosh said, he’ll have more control over what goes on at the building, which should benefit his apartment tenants.
Previously, he said, there were a lot of 2 a.m. nights at Blu, including one in 2021 that resulted in the death of one person and the arrest of another.
That’s why McIntosh said he’s focusing on a more upscale environment.
“I was hoping to not have that anymore,” he said.
“Hopefully, it’ll work for everyone.”