Chain restaurants love Wichita, and a couple of new ones will be making their way to town. One is Ugly Dumpling, which is part of a New Jersey-based chain that serves Shanghai-style street food favorites like dumplings, wontons and bao. The restaurant is taking over the spot at 13th and Greenwich that Jose Pepper’s exited in March. Ugly Dumpling should be open within five to seven months. Also, a new pizza chain is coming to downtown Wichita. Stoner’s Pizza Joint is taking over one of the vacant Douglas-facing spaces just off of Naftzger Park at Douglas and St. Francis. The chain is based in Florida and serves pizza, stromboli and smoked chicken wings. It should open sometime this summer.
Northeast Wichita thought it would be waiting until summer for the opening of the new Culver’s restaurant at 37th and Rock. But the franchisee surprised people by opening the doors last week. Though Nick Campe had been sticking to his story about a summer opening date, he said last week that because the winter was mild, he was able to speed up construction and open early. The restaurant is now open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily serving butter burgers, fries and frozen custard. Wichita’s first Culver’s opened July 2024 on North Maize Road. There’s also one in Derby, and another franchisee will open one in Andover’s Heritage Square in December.
In more chain restaurant news, the construction site in front of the Dillons at 135th West and Maple will soon emerge as Wichita’s ninth Chipotle restaurant. Construction is underway, and the framework of the building is already visible even though the restaurant won’t open until later this year. The last time a Chipotle opened in Wichita was in December 2021 at 2349 S. Seneca.
