A couple of weeks ago, my report was filled with news of Wichita restaurant openings and not a single closing. But I can’t say the same this time.
Over the past couple of weeks, Wichita has lost two longtime restaurants. One is the original Riverside Cafe on West 13th Street. It closed for good nearly two weeks ago, and its contents have since been auctioned. The owner said that the cafe never financially recovered from a year and a half shut down that followed a fire in 2021, but she does plan to keep the Riverside Cafe on West Central going. The other closing happened this week.
Mexican restaurant Jose Peppers had been open at the Palacio Development at 13th and Greenwich since 2009, but shut its doors for good at the end of business on Sunday. Managers said the closing coincided with the restaurant’s lease expiring. Wichita once also had a West Side Jose Peppers at 21st and Tyler. It closed in 2022 after a decade in business…