Lone Star Business Solutions to close, leaving no Lone Star offices in Wichita

WICHITA — As of mid next year, there will no longer be any Lone Star operations in Wichita.

"There was a decision to wind down . . . the management offices here in Wichita," says Jan Dietrich, chief operating officer of Lone Star Business Solutions.

That office is part of the Dallas-based Lone Star Funds 5, which in late 2006 bought the group of restaurants that Wichita's Jamie Coulter once owned.

Lone Star Funds 5 is part of Lone Star Funds, a global investment firm that happens to share the name of the restaurant group's flagship business.

Last year, Lone Star Funds 5 moved its corporate offices from here to Dallas.

Lone Star Business Solutions remained in Wichita at the Wichita Executive Centre at 125 N. Market to handle payroll, accounting and human resource functions for Lone Star's restaurant concepts. Those include Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon, Texas Land & Cattle Steak House, Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House and Sullivan's Steakhouse.

Now, those services will be handled by InfoSync Services in Wichita.

"After careful consideration, it was determined that this was the best decision given the company's efforts to streamline operations . . . and invest in other aspects of the ongoing business — that being the actual restaurant concepts," Dietrich says.

"We're optimistic that InfoSync will have an opportunity to look at hiring some of our people that are being impacted by this decision.”

That's about 50 people.

"We regret the impact to the employees," Dietrich says. "There's a lot of good, long-term, dedicated employees, and they've worked hard."

This story was originally published November 24, 2010 at 5:21 AM.