Last visible sign of Coleman Co. activity in downtown Wichita is disappearing

The last visible sign of Coleman Co. activity in downtown Wichita is disappearing. The Coleman Factory Outlet and Museum at 235 N. St. Francis has closed, and the store is now empty. Its products will now be for sale at what was supposed to be a temporary outlet store in west Wichita at the former OfficeMax building at 2414 N. Mai… Read Article

Jerry’s Bar & Grill under contract; buyers want public’s help deciding what to open

BY CARRIE RENGERS [email protected]  November 28, 2018 05:00 AM   There’s a chance a longtime favorite west-Wichita haunt could reopen. Matt Hiatt and Darren Greiving have the former Jerry’s Bar & Grill under contract and expect to close on the purchase in January. They’re n… Read Article

A popular Wichita barbecue restaurant is moving today

If you’re craving Hog Wild Pit Bar-B-Q, wait until Wednesday to visit the location at 47th and Broadway. The restaurant will be closed today — Tuesday, Nov. 27 — while it moves to a new building just 100 feet away. T.D. O’Connell, who owns the Hog Wild chain, is moving the restaurant he’s run for 16 years at 662 E. 47th St. South to the form… Read Article

Independent Ace Hardware owners take ‘big step’ with new, expanded south-side store

BY CARRIE RENGERS [email protected] November 21, 2018 05:00 AM   Greg Paul has a plan to make sure his already more than half-century-old Ace Hardware will be around “for a long, long time for Wichita.” By spring, the store will be open in new, expanded space that Paul and his wife, Sheila, will… Read Article

A peek into the final hectic hours before the new Nifty Nut House opens

BY CARRIE RENGERS [email protected] November 19, 2018 05:00 AM  UPDATED — On Sunday, with less than 16 hours before the Nifty Nut House opened in its new, expanded space, Head Nut Steve Jahn was slightly less jolly than Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. “All the elves are driving me nuts,” Jahn said as … Read Article

Local Roasters opens in Douglas Design District

BY CARRIE RENGERS [email protected] November 16, 2018 02:42 PM  Former Spice Merchant head roaster Colby Short and his soon-to-be stepfather-in-law, Jason Gardner, opened the retail side of their new Local Roasters coffee business on Friday. There’s no sign yet, though, so for now they’re going to have to… Read Article

Occidental Management to convert turn-of-the-century icehouse into offices

BY CARRIE RENGERS [email protected] November 14, 2018 05:00 AM   UPDATED — Even before Occidental Management’s renovation of Union Station is complete, the company is taking on another nearby building to refurbish and expand. “This particular building was the icehouse building,” Occidental… Read Article

Half Price Books to finally start selling in addition to buying

BY CARRIE RENGERS [email protected] November 14, 2018 02:23 PM   Half Price Books has been buying books and other items from the public since early October, but now the new store at Eastgate Plaza at Kellogg and Rock Road is opening so customers can start buying, too. The first 100 shoppers on Thursday, Friday, Saturda… Read Article

Horton’s Carpets to open second west-side store

BY CARRIE RENGERS [email protected] November 13, 2018 05:00 AM   Horton’s Carpets has had so much success with its store near Maple and Ridge Road, it’s opening a second west-side store at NewMarket North just north of NewMarket Square on Maize Road. Co-owner Jesse Sauer says that area hasn’t had its own sp… Read Article

West Wichita’s new Cracker Barrel has an opening date

We’ve watched it going up as we’ve driven past Kellogg and Ridge for the past several months. Now we know when Wichita’s new Cracker Barrel — the first new Kansas restaurant the chain has opened in 20 years — will open its doors. According to a news release, the new restaurant will start welcoming customers at 6 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 12. (That&r… Read Article

Owners of Da Cajun Shak are expanding again, will open another restaurant next year

A little more than a month after opening their first Da Chicken Shak & More — a sister restaurant to their longtime Da Cajun Shak — the Granger family is ready to expand again. Led by Tim Granger, the family plans to open their second Da Chicken Shak & More this January at 31st and South Seneca. Eventually, said fam… Read Article

One of Old Town’s last undeveloped buildings to get new life

BY CARRIE RENGERS [email protected] With so much happening in downtown right now, it might seem like the redevelopment of 115 N. Mead is simply one more project. Brian Cunningham says it’s more than that. “It’s literally one of the last undeveloped buildings in Old Town.” The former Downtown Mini Storage b… Read Article

Finally, confirmation on one of the most sought-after businesses for Wichita

BY CARRIE RENGERS [email protected] October 10, 2018 06:13 PM   People don’t generally appreciate it when you say, “I told you so,” but perhaps this is an exception. Remember when Have You Heard? said Dave & Buster’s likely will open at Greenwich Place? No one is talking offici… Read Article

Revolutsia shipping container development lands two more tenants

BY CARRIE RENGERS [email protected] October 09, 2018 11:14 AM   Surely Revolutsia, the new shipping container development at Central and Volutsia, is going to run out of room soon. There are two more tenants to announce, says broker Krista Racine of J.P. Weigand & Sons. The first is D’s Chic Boutique. If yo… Read Article

Sandbar Trading to open in permanent space on Saturday

The temporary space Sandbar Trading was in for the holidays last year is now going to become its permanent one. “It’s been a work in progress,” says Richard Gottsponer. He and his wife, Julie, are going to reopen at 414 S. Commerce St., which is just south ofDock 410. Sandbar Trading had been in the Old Town area for 15 y… Read Article

Century Plaza to get a Greek restaurant, apartments and a new name

As downtown transforms with new buildings and businesses and as plans continue to develop to redo Century II, Sophokles Anthimides has developed a few plans of his own for Century Plaza next door. Anthimides, who also owns Athena Jewelry at 219 E. Douglas, bought the once-thriving 12-story 1920 building 17 years ago. The building is mos… Read Article

One Michaels craft store to close as another opens

BY CARRIE RENGERS [email protected] It looks like with the new Michaels store that is opening at Greenwich Place at K-96 and Greenwich, the Michaels store at One Kellogg Place at Kellogg and Greenwich will be closing. No one at the Texas-based Michaels was available for comment, but the almost 24,000-square-foot space that … Read Article

Three Coney Island Hot Weiners coming to Wichita; group has 12-state licensing deal

BY CARRIE RENGERS [email protected] UPDATED — Michael Frimel loves his adopted home of Wichita, but there’s one thing he desperately misses from his Tulsa home of more than 30 years: Coney Island Hot Weiners. Now, he and business partners Tad Fugate and Drayton Alldritt have signed a 1… Read Article

Fuzzy’s Taco Shop to open at WSU’s Braeburn Square, which has ‘gone amazingly quickly’

BY CARRIE RENGERS [email protected]  UPDATED — Fuzzy’s Taco Shop is following its strong Wichita opening on the east side with a second restaurant, but it’s not on the west side as some were hoping. It’ll be at the new 20-acre Braeburn Square west of 21st and Oliver at Wi… Read Article

This new-to-Wichita clothing store — and three others — are coming to Greenwich Place

BY CARRIE RENGERS [email protected] September 23, 2018 01:31 PM Four new stores are under construction at Greenwich Place at K-96 and Greenwich. “It’s exciting to keep the momentum going,” says developer Christian Ablah of Classic Real Estate. The new tenants include Michaels, F… Read Article