General News in the 316

[SubGod22]

I hadn't heard about this

KFDI - Holocaust Memorial planned for Wichita

Plans are moving ahead for a Holocaust Memorial in Wichita. A citizens group has been working to raise funds for the memorial that will be placed near the Veterans Memorial Park west of downtown Wichita.

The project has been approved by the city’s Park Board and the City Council has approved an agreement for maintenance of the memorial.

Architect Matthew Cunningham designed the memorial and presented information to the City Council on its design. The memorial will educate visitors about World War II, the Holocaust and the Kansas soldiers who helped to liberate the concentration camps. Cunningham said General Dwight D. Eisenhower will be recognized in the memorial. He said there will be six plaques in the memorial, including a dedication plaque. Lighting will also be provided for the memorial.

[SubGod22]

Some positive Boeing/Spirit news for a change.

WBJ - Big week for Boeing defense contracts should mean more work for Spirit AeroSystems

Boeing's struggling defense and space segment has snagged more than $4 billion in contract modifications on a pair of programs involving significant contributions from Wichita's Spirit AeroSystems.

Last week, Boeing announced it received a $2.4 billion award to build 15 additional KC-46A Pegasus tankers for the U.S. Air Force. The same day, the Department of Defense said the aerospace giant had received a $1.7 billion award from the U.S. Navy for seven P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft.

Spirit, Boeing's largest supplier, builds the forward fuselage, fixed leading edge and strut and nacelle components on the KC-46A. Meanwhile, the P-8A Poseidon is a variant of the Boeing 737, of which Spirit builds 70% of the structure, including the aircraft’s full fuselage.

Boeing said it now has 168 KC-46A tankers under contract. Since 2019, the company has delivered 89 of the aircraft to the U.S. Air Force and four to Japan.

"We appreciate our continued partnership with the U.S. Air Force," said Lynn Fox, Boeing vice president and KC-46 program manager, in a news release. "This is another big milestone for our team, and we look forward to delivering the world’s most advanced multi-mission aerial refuelers for years to come."

These contracts aren't set to conclude until summer/fall of '28.

[SubGod22]

Always like to see Wichita companies growing and expanding.

WBJ - Mid-Continent Instruments and Avionics names new president, other execs

A growing Wichita aviation subcontractor has announced a new president and a slate of other leadership changes that the company says will position it to expand global market share and support increased customer demand.

Mid-Continent Instruments and Avionics announced Monday it has promoted Matthew Harrah, who was hired in 2020 as senior vice president of technology and products, to the role of president at both Mid-Continent and its True Blue Power division.

Todd Winter — who had been serving since 2000 as both president and chief executive officer of Mid-Continent and held the same titles at True Blue Power after it was formed in 2010 — will remain CEO.

“We are making the right moves at the right time to support our customers,” Winter said in a news release. “The high demand for our products penetrates all sectors of aerospace and aviation... Our unrivaled dedication to meeting the challenge of technology can only be realized by a superior leadership team.”

Mid-Continent, which employs about 180 people in Wichita, manufactures and repairs instruments for the aerospace industry.

Sounds like they have a pretty good presence in the international market and are currently expanding their presence at Jabara.

[SubGod22]

Eagle - Baseball legend Ozzie Smith coming to Wichita for NBC World Series Hall of Fame event

Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith is coming to Wichita as the keynote speaker at the 2025 National Baseball Congress Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

Before he was known as “The Wizard” and became an all-time great with the St. Louis Cardinals, Smith played in the NBC World Series in 1976 with the Clarinda A’s. He is a 1992 inductee into the NBC World Series Hall of Fame.

Smith will share his insights and stories from his legendary career, offering attendees a unique opportunity to hear from one of the game’s most iconic figures. Tickets are available for $150 through nbcbaseball.com.

The 2025 class of inductees are David Benson, Alex Gordon and Phil Stephenson. The ceremony is slated for Thursday, Jan. 30, at B-29 Doc Hangar in Wichita.

Gordon, who was a three-time MLB All-Star and won eight Gold Glove awards during his career, was a key player for the Kansas City Royals during their run to the 2015 World Series. He was named the NBC Graduate of the Year in 2013 and played for the Beatrice Bruins in the 2002 NBC World Series.

[SubGod22]

KSN - KDOT to give update of Passenger Rail Development plan

The Kansas Department of Transportation will soon give an update on the development plan for restoring passenger rail service to other parts of the state.

Amtrak’s Heartland Flyer connects Ft. Worth, Texas, to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. KDOT is exploring options to extend the service from Oklahoma City to Arkansas City and Wichita to Newton, where passengers could connect to the Southwest Chief, which connects Chicago, Illinois, and Los Angeles, California.

A live virtual meeting will take place Wednesday, Dec. 11, from 1 to 2 p.m. CST. It will then be available 24/7 as a virtual open house until Jan. 1, 2025.

The virtual meeting will be hosted via Zoom. KDOT will give a real-time presentation, followed by a question-and-answer session, during which participants can ask questions or provide comments, and KDOT will respond. You can join the meeting on Dec. 11 by clicking here.

For more information about expanded passenger rail service in Kansas, visit ksdot.gov/passrail/.

The proposed times the train would be in the area suck, based on what I remember, but this could still be a good option at times for some. And you never know if the times may eventually be altered down the road.

Either way, something worth keeping an eye on.

[Veritas]

Hopefully, we can pick up some of the spare change.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/24/business/washington-curtails-intel-grant.html

[SubGod22]

WBJ - Growing indoor golf simulation industry inspires new Wichita concept ShotSuite

Brandon Ventling said he wants to be prepared when he opens his new sports bar concept.

"If you want more insight into my thinking, 'Could we push and try to open in late December?' Yes, but I'm a big believer in preparedness and a first-class experience," he said.

Ventling, who began construction in October, said he wants make sure "everything is perfect" for the January opening of ShotSuite, a 3,500 square-foot sports bar concept centered around indoor golf simulators with multi-sport options. He co-founded the business with his wife, Jenna Ventling. In the District 96 development north of K-96 at Oliver and 35th Street, the business joins the likes of Another Broken Egg Cafe and TapNPaddles, run by Ventling's parents, Mike and Kelli Ventling.

The ShotSuite space, being built by El Dorado-based architect Gravity::Works and Wichita's Accel Construction, will include five simulator bays that allow users to play golf courses and different sports like football, soccer and baseball. It will also have a 15-person bar with drinks and snack options and TVs.

District 96 is becoming more and more interesting. It's another nice, and growing, addition to northeast Wichita.

[SubGod22]

The Belmont finally gets its parking.

KSN - City council approves The Belmont's request to build a larger parking lot

One Wichita restaurant is getting a larger parking lot, but the request wasn’t without debate.

On Tuesday, the Wichita City Council approved The Belmont in College Hill’s request to build the new parking lot.

The Belmont owners say this is the third time they’ve tried to get approval to build their parking lot. They say they plan to stay in College Hill for as long as time allows, and this is a step toward improving that community.

Those opposed to the lot say they were gutted when two homes on the property were torn down as The Belmont owners tried to get approval for their parking lot.

[JVShocker]

The Belmont finally gets its parking.

KSN - City council approves The Belmont's request to build a larger parking lot

They need that parking. Desperately. I imagine the people opposed live outside the general area of that center and restaurant. Imagine coming home every night to your home in the area and seeing cars parked up and down your street and in front of your home so people could head over to eat. Should have been done a long, long time ago. I also heard Crown Uptown wanted permissions to expand their building. Any word on if that was talked about?

[SubGod22]

They need that parking. Desperately. I imagine the people opposed live outside the general area of that center and restaurant. Imagine coming home every night to your home in the area and seeing cars parked up and down your street and in front of your home so people could head over to eat. Should have been done a long, long time ago. I also heard Crown Uptown wanted permissions to expand their building. Any word on if that was talked about?

Crown Uptown has been sent back to MAPC or whatever it's called. I saw that there are conflicting numbers on capacity that need to be clarified. CU owner is saying he wants capacity upped to 2,066 I think is the number and there have been reports that if the sprinkler system was updated, the fire chief said capacity could be raised somewhere between 1500 and 1600.

CU owner has also stated he has verbal agreements for usage of nearby parking lots, but there's concern that none of that is in writing or something.

College Hill residents are fighting against the capacity increase because of the increase in traffic and lack of parking.

Also read something about while CU doesn't have official historic building status, it's been footnoted in something that still may protect it from being torn down. I don't fully understand that and can't remember which source I was reading when I came across that nugget.

I think CU wanted to do some interior work to expand capacity to 2K, but I'm not 100 on that. There's some belief that there's wording somewhere that would prevent any such physical changes to the interior.

So no decision to be made in the nearest of futures.

[Veritas]

What was the capacity of the old movie theater?
Where did they park?

[SubGod22]

The Hurts Donut building on W. 21st will now be home to a new donut business.

WBJ - New owners of Hurts Donuts building bring in new tenant

After hearing about Hurts Donuts closing shop in northwest Wichita, local real estate broker and investor Phil Graves "did his thing."

"I found out the seller was off the market and I approached him. We negotiated," Graves said. "We liked the piece of property. We didn't necessarily have anything in mind when we purchased it."

Graves, alongside real estate developer Hamid Bakhtiari, who brought Starbucks to 21st Street and Maize and South Andover Road, said they approached a franchisee group — which included KC-based Jesus Diaz, Wichita-based Byron Smith and Florida-based Ryan Pulfer and Craig Young. They were interested in opening Indiana-based coffee and doughnut shop Parlor Doughnuts in the building, which is at 7010 W. 21st St.

Parlor Doughnuts is a franchised doughnut and coffee shop that offers a variety of layered doughnuts, breakfast items, coffee and juices. The company has over 50 locations in the country and has plans to expand to around 200 locations, Smith said.

Should be open by spring.

They're also hoping to find something in College Hill for a 2nd location. Hope they're up for a fight.

[SubGod22]

Cowtown loses beloved cow.

KSN - Cowtown Museum announces Rosie's passing

Old Cowtown Museum and the City of Wichita announced on Monday that Rosie the cow, a beloved fixture of Old Cowtown Museum, will be laid to rest after being humanely euthanized.

Rosie, a 20-year-old shorthorn cow, lived her entire life at the museum, delighting visitors and staff. Many families have taken pictures with Rosie as part of their trip.

Besides being a favorite feature at the museum, Rosie was an orchestral muse, inspiring a movement entitled “Rosie Dreams of the Herd” in an orchestral piece called “Old Cowtown Suite” written by Hollywood film composer George S. Clinton and dedicated to the Wichita Symphony Orchestra. Clinton visited Old Cowtown Museum in 2019 and was inspired to write a piece about Wichita’s history as an old west town.

[SubGod22]

WBJ - The 5 largest building permits in Wichita last month includes 2 parking garages

The list of the largest commercial building permits pulled in Wichita in November is fewer in number compared to the month prior, but not by project cost.

Consider this — in October, the 10 largest permits had a combined valuation of around $22 million. The five largest from November, meanwhile, start at $45 million and end up at $700,000.

Notably, two of those five permits are for parking garages.

Each week, the Wichita Business Journal publishes a series of public records and legal filings collected from local courthouses and government offices, as well as federal, state and municipal online data portals — arming local professionals with valuable business leads.

The below chart spotlights the five largest commercial building permits pulled in Sedgwick County during the month of November, based on total valuation.

$45M to demo and rebuild the parking garage at Wesley. Full project expected to be more than $60M

$15M for the 400 stall parking garage at The Hub.

[SubGod22]

Local chain restaurant Chick N Max is planning a 50 store expansion in the middle of the country over the next couple of years. Targeting the states of Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas.

WBJ - Chick N Max plans 'aggressive' expansion into Midwest, central U.S.

One of Wichita's fastest-growing companies is ready to take a bigger step in the Midwest and central U.S.

Chick N Max, a fast-casual chain based in Wichita, announced Friday that it aims to open up to 50 locations in six states in the next two years.

"Solidifying our franchise expansion is a milestone we can feel proud about reaching in just a few short years since our launch in 2018,” Chick N Max CEO and founder Max Sheets said in a news release. “Now, we’re excited about turning the page to this next chapter of our evolution and look forward to bringing our innovative take on chicken to more markets across the central United States.”

Sounds like they'll be targeting Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, and Iowa City in Iowa. St. Louis, Columbia, and Kansas City in Missouri. Topeka and Kansas City in Kansas. OKC and Tulsa in Oklahoma. Minneapolis/St. Paul in Minnesota. Dallas-Ft. Worth in Texas.


This is on top of the previously announced push to target the cities of Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa Bay, Tallahassee, St. Petersburg, Orlando, and West Palm Beach in Florida as well as Charlotte in North Carolina.

This also doesn't include the franchise agreement already in place in Kansas to open up 25 more over the next decade.

Personally, I enjoy hitting up Chick N Max from time to time. There's one maybe a mile or so from where I work and though I don't eat out for lunch much, it makes the rotation when I do.

Plus, like Freddy's, I enjoy seeing a local business continue to grow and find success.