Happy Halloween, Wichita. I have so much dining news to share with you, it’s positively frightening.
First up: If you’re one of the Wichita diners who has been waiting decades for Cheesecake Factory to finally come to town, this is your week. On Monday, the California-based chain pulled a construction permit to build a restaurant on the spot at Bradley Fair where Outback Steakhouse once operated. There’s no word yet on a timeline.
Also, Raising Cane’s confirmed this week the address for its east-Wichita restaurant. The chain will open on the southeast corner of Douglas and Rock where B.D.’s Mongolian Grill used to be. Wichita’s first Raising Cane’s chicken finger restaurant opened to big crowds in June at 350 S. Ridge Road.
Several local owners also have just announced plans for new restaurants. Serendibz will be owned by a local couple from Sri Lanka and will be the only restaurant in Kansas serving Sri Lankan food. It will open in the strip center across from the Dillons at 37th and Woodlawn in the coming weeks.
Also, a pair of best friends and cheerleading coaches are planning to open a combination coffee shop and champagne bar in a strip center at 37th and Ridge later this year. It will be called Vivre (VIVA), French for “to live.”
And Blue Moon Caterers has been chosen to take over the empty restaurant space in the Wichita Art Museum. They’ll call the new business Eat at the Wichita Art Museum and will serve family-friendly fare. The restaurant should open in a few weeks.
