Some Wichita restaurants doubling as tiny grocery stores to help customers, bottom lines
It’s been just over two weeks since restaurants in Wichita started shutting down in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
And during that time, creative owners have been trying a variety of unorthodox things to keep the doors open — curbside pickup, free delivery, deep discounts and family meals among them.
Now, there’s another mini-trend starting, one that allows restaurants to keep their inventory from spoiling and also helps out customers who don’t want to brave the grocery stores or who can’t find what they want when they do.
Over the past couple of weeks, these restaurants have begun offering grocery-like services, selling items from their pantries and walk-ins that their customers can take home and prepare themselves.
Some are offering rib eyes, filets and other cuts of meat. Some are packaging up bread, potatoes and eggs from their own pantries and kitchens.
Bryce Kuhn, who owns Twelve Restaurant & Bar at 12111 W. Maple, is in his second week of offering groceries to go. He’s posted a “family cookout grocery menu” of uncooked items he’s selling, and many customers have been adding them on when they pick up cooked meals to go.
The idea, he said, is to keep at least some cash flowing into the restaurant so he can continue to pay his salaried workers.
“It just slows the bleed a little,” he said.
Among the items he has on his grocery menu that started on Monday are 8-ounce flat iron steaks, 6-ounce chicken breasts, shrimp skewers, and fresh ground chuck burgers. People can also pick up brioche burger buns, grill-ready corn on the cob that’s buttered and wrapped in foil, and fresh-made lemonade.
Kuhn, who plans to change the menu each week, said that so far, he’s fulfilling between five and 10 grocery orders each night. But considering that his overall sales are about 15 to 20 percent of what he was doing before, he’ll take it.
“We’re not really making any money off of it,” he said. “But it’s lessening our inventory and giving people a reason to put a little cash in our pockets.”
Here is a list of some of the other Wichita restaurants that are selling grocery items to go. Know of one I missed? E-mail me at dneil@wichitaeagle.com.
Meats and other groceries
Twelve, 12111 W. Maple: Offering steaks, salmon, shrimp skewers, chicken breast, pork chops and more to cook at home. (See menu below). Call 316-440-2812 between 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. to order groceries and pick up after 2:30 p.m.
Oasis Lounge, 4121 W. Maple: Selling a “grill out special” that includes 2 pounds of beef, eight buns, eight slices of cheese, eight potatoes or eight servings of homemade chips for $19.99. Customers can also get beef for $4.99 a pound and potatoes for 99 cents a pound. Order by calling 316-943-9260. Hours are 11 a.m. to 7:45 p.m.
Public at the Brickyard, 129 N Rock Island: This restaurant is offering a menu of “Public Provisions,” including pickles, Ranchero salsa, eggs, tortillas and wheat flour. Look for more choices soon. Order ahead at https://public-at-the-brickyard.square.site/ and pick up from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays.
AVI Sea Bar & Chop House, 135 N. Waco: Ben Arnold, who owns this restaurant along with his Corporate Caterers of Wichita, is still offering his grocery filled “survival kits” and also has started selling things like chicken breast, ground beef, bacon, milk and eggs. To order, email info@corporatecaterersofwichita.com or call 316-264-9167. Delivery available for $10.
Bubba’s 33, 412 S. Towne East Mall Drive: This restaurant is selling ready-to-cook steaks, salmon, burger patties, sliced bacon and shrimp. Customers are asked to call 316-681-9111 24 hours in advance for orders.
RibCrib, 500 S. Ridge Road: The Wichita location of this restaurant is offering an impressive list of groceries for take-out and curbside pickup, including dairy items, produce, meat — even toilet paper and disposable gloves. To see the list visit ribcrib.com, click on the menu and choose “the essentials.”
The Anchor Meat Market, 1113 E. Douglas: This one’s a little different because The Anchor Meat Market, adjacent to popular restaurant The Anchor, always sells groceries. But it’s particularly stocked now with things like eggs, flour, yeast, ground beef, chicken, steaks and more. It’s working on a way for customers to make online orders and pick up at the curb. For now, call 316-239-7400 to make an order.
Steaks only
Texas Roadhouse, 6707 W. Kellogg and 2526 N. Greenwich: Both Wichita restaurants are offering ready-to-grill steaks that can be picked up daily between noon and 3 p.m. Call 24 hours in advance to order. Among the choices are sirloins for between $4.50 and $6, filets for between $8 and $10, rib eyes for $12, and 20-oz bone-in rib eyes for $18. Call 316-943-8722 for west store and 316-634-1106 for east.
6S Steakhouse, 6200 W. 21st St.: This west-side restaurant has introduced its temporary “6S Butcher Shop,” offering flat iron steaks, bone-in rib eyes, and two sizes of 29-day dry-aged KC Strips. The steaks are available for carryout or delivery by calling 316-361-6667.
A few grocery menus
This story was originally published April 1, 2020 at 2:56 PM with the headline "Some Wichita restaurants doubling as tiny grocery stores to help customers, bottom lines."
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