Wichita’s mamafilm microcinema is back, this time with a new downtown home

With films on subjects ranging from serious topics such as school shootings to fun romps like a foodie film festival, the mamafilm microcinema is back. The latest incarnation of mamafilm kicks off Friday at the Lux with an Ulrich Museum of Art collaboration and then follows up on Feb. 12 with the start of the mamafilm series. “… Read Article

Downtown co-working space to expand with first floor Orpheum Office Building purchase

Two years after starting her Hive co-working space at the Orpheum Office Building, Andrea Hattan is not only expanding her space there, but she’s purchased it, too. “We were seeing an increased need for private office space and also workshop space,” Hattan says. “And then our very own floor happened to come a… Read Article

A change in routine for this expanding downtown Wichita business

Derek Davenport is having a soft opening for his expanded Urban Routine Wellness in the former FNL Denim space on the west side of Eaton Place, but the business is slightly different than he planned. Davenport has dropped the fitness portion of the business and added a salon as he originally planned. He says he heard from stylists who “w… Read Article

New restaurant named for storied Wichita street to open by late March

College Hill’s Belmont Street has long been one of Wichita’s most storied streets — including being the first electrically illuminated residential street — whose historic 1925 arches greet drivers at Douglas and at Central. Now, there is going to be a restaurant named for it, too. The group bringing a restaurant and bar to Happiness … Read Article

East-side Berkshire Hathaway office making move to Waterfront

Once construction finishes in April, one of the local Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices PenFed Realty offices will be the newest tenant at the Hinkle Law Firm building at the Waterfront. Patty Sanders, the company's regional president for the state of Kansas, said the plan is to relocate BHHS PenFed Realty's east Wichita office to the Waterfront from its current space n… Read Article

Looks like tee time finally is scheduled for Wichita’s new golf entertainment concept

After a couple of false starts over the past few years, it looks like the new multimillion dollar golf entertainment complex just north of Greenwich Place finally is going to tee off. It just won’t be a DRIV Golf Lounge & Brewhouse or a Swings complex as once planned. Springfield, Mo., businessman Tim O’Reilly is bringing a… Read Article

Eric Fisher is taking a nontraditional approach for his new downtown salon

On Saturday, Eric Fisher will open his fourth salon in the Spaghetti Works District, and it’ll be a little different than all his others. In addition to what Fisher calls a modern look, the salon will offer a lot of streamlined services. “We’re trying to abridge some things for the downtown crowd to get them in, get them out,”… Read Article

Tour Wichita’s latest YMCA, which may be at WSU but is for the entire community

Ronn McMahon knows that “state of the art” is an overused phrase, but the Greater Wichita YMCA president and CEO can’t stop using it to describe the new Steve Clark YMCA and Student Wellness Center at Wichita State University. McMahon said “the latest-and-greatest equipment” at this Y is black and gold —… Read Article

Greater Wichita Partnership expands into fourth Eaton Place storefront

The Greater Wichita Partnership is growing its footprint downtown. The Partnership will expand into a fourth, ground-floor storefront adjacent to its current offices at historic Eaton Place once renovation work finishes later this spring. "It was an opportunity to expand," Greater Wichita Partnership president Jeff Fluhr said. "It certa… Read Article

A longtime west Wichita salon and spa will have new owners in January

Charisma Inner Beauty, a 31-year-old salon and spa in west Wichita, will soon be in new hands. Robin Wolfe and her husband, Bob, have owned and operated the business since it was founded. In a news release, Wolfe said she is ready to close that chapter and start new adventures. "We were both ready for a change and the stars aligned to make this happen," … Read Article

Pie and home cooking are on the menu in the Spaghetti Works District as of Tuesday

Even without the promise of free pies for life, Hutton finished building the new downtown HomeGrown and Peace, Love & Pie restaurants more than two months early. That’s because Thrive Restaurant Group president Jon Rolph convinced his friend Ben Hutton and his firm to build th… Read Article

A roundup of Opportunity Zone projects getting off the ground in Wichita

As we approach the end of 2019, Opportunity Zone projects seem to be getting off the ground in Wichita. There are at least four projects — that we know of publicly — that are underway. Scot Rigby, assistant city manager, said there could be more that investors or developers haven't shared. And more seem to be brewing. Rigby said the city … Read Article

Wichita Union Stockyards finally to open with its first concert

It may have taken about two years longer than Mike and Tina Andra planned, but excitement hasn’t seemed to dim for their new Wichita Union Stockyards event center. “Ticket sales have just been crazy,” Mike Andra said. The almost 800-capacity venue is having a soft opening Saturday night that includes drinks, snacks and a concert by the Whiskey River … Read Article

Kansas City-based grocery chain enters the Wichita market with its first store

Wichita has a new grocery store, and it’s another win for Westway Plaza at the southwest corner of Pawnee and Seneca. El Rio Bravo Supermarket, a Kansas City-based chain, opened in about 28,000 square feet of the 200,000-square-foot shopping center on Wednesday. “Of course, the focus is on (the) Hispanic community,” says … Read Article

A local restaurant is about to get a big presence at Wichita’s Intrust Bank Arena

A growing local restaurant chain known for its Mediterranean fare will soon have a big presence in Wichita’s Intrust Bank Arena. Meddys, Alex Harb’s restaurant that has three Wichita locations and a fourth on the way, will soon have spots on both the lower and upper concourses of the arena. The one on the lower concourse, which will … Read Article

A LANDMARK CHANGE Brad Saville's 26 years at top of real-estate company gives way to Kevin Dreiling

Kevin Dreiling will soon be on the other side of the transaction as the new president of Landmark Commercial Real Estate. He joins Landmark after a 20-year career with the Wichita-based Restaurant Management Co., where he oversaw real estate and development of its franchise brands. Dreiling, a native of Wichita, will take… Read Article

Downtown technology hub close to opening, ‘And from that greater things will grow’

The new Groover Labs won’t officially open until the new year, but owners Tracy Hoover and Curt Gridley have started showing off their downtown space through a few events, and they’ve opened the doors to the inaugural users of the $5 million technology hub. The former Printing Inc. building at 334… Read Article

A couple of familiar downtown dwellers are opening a new Old Town shop for men

Businessman Rodney Horton not only purchased the buildings along East Douglas from Washington to part of the Larkspur space, he’s now opening a store there as well. He and former FNL Denim co-owner Levi Fitzmier are opening Standard Issue, a men’s clothing, accessory and gift shop, at 924 E. Douglas. I… Read Article

Construction begins on three storage facilities made to look like retail centers

A Greenville, S.C.-based developer is bringing a new concept in self-storage facilities to Wichita. Construction has started on three new buildings that are designed to look more like retail centers instead of the traditional, gated self-storage facilities Wichita is used to. And each of the three-story, climate-controlled buildings is going up i… Read Article

Wichita recycler expands again by bringing another company back under local ownership

AllMetal Recycling has expanded yet again, this time by bringing a longtime Kansas company back under local ownership. Glickman Metal Recycling started in 1910 and sold to Oklahoma-based Yaffe Cos. in 2002. Last week, AllMetal purchased Glickman from Yaffe, which still has operations in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri. Glickman ha… Read Article