Rising costs cited as contributing factor in closing decision

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - After more than 30 years in business, Stroud’s of Wichita said it will officially close its doors on Thursday, May 15.

“For decades, we’ve had the privilege of serving this incredible community, becoming a part of your lives and traditions,” said the restaurant in a post on Facebook. “From our pan-fried chicken to all our meals designed to bring back memories of Sunday dinners at Grandma’s, we’ve loved being a gathering place for generations of families here in Wichita, KS.”

The first Stroud’s Restaurant & Bar was opened in Kansas City in 1933. The couple served barbecue until World War II, when beef was rationed. That’s when they started serving Helen’s pan-fried chicken for 35 cents, according to the website.

Mike Donegan and Jim Hogan purchased Stroud’s Restaurant & Bar in 1977. Inheriting a couple of Helen’s cooks and recipes, they developed the menu still served today.

The Wichita location opened in 1993, and the Wichita Wine Barn has become a landmark in the city; the first Stroud’s Restaurant & Bar outside of the Kansas City area.

In Wichita, Stroud’s General Manager Kevin Allis said the restaurant is left with no other choice as prices continue to rise across the board.

“We went through every possible scenario to keep it going, everything,” Allis said. “...It’s not just inflation or the prices of groceries; it’s the cost of the occupation of the building, property taxes, everything. Nothing’s going down and everything is going up exponentially.”

The situation put Allis and his staff in a tough position.

“We just kept coming back too, ‘We can’t shrink the portion’; it’s Stroud’s, you can’t do that, we’re not going to lower the quality, so the only option is, raise prices,” Allis said. “We would’ve priced [ourselves] out of the market.”

Stroud’s isn’t alone among Wichita restaurants when it comes to feeling the economic pinch.

Marcus Wooley, owner of The Appetite, said he’s moving away from the brick-and-mortar restaurant model because of rising prices.

“You know, I was paying [$2,500] just for rent there and then utilities and all that, paying employees, buying food. If I’m not making $10,000 a month, I’m not even covering my bills and my employees and everything, and that don’t even scratch into making (a) profit,” Wooley explained.

As the cost of business continues to become more expensive, Woolsey said the best thing people can do to help local restaurants is simply to keep supporting them.

“Be gentle on restaurants is what I say,” he said. “Be generous and take care of your fellow local restaurants because they’re out here getting through this hard time too.”

Copyright 2025 KWCH. All rights reserved. To report a correction or typo, please email [email protected]

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - A 13-year-old boy from Wichita is fighting for his life after suffering a brain injury while playing in a local basketball tournament.

On March 30, Shama’ar Jefferson said his head was hurting, and he had blurry vision after playing the first half of his basketball game. Shama’ar passed a concussion test but later collapsed.

“I noticed they had got him up into a chair and he started seizing,” said Shaquela Cornwell, Shama’ar’s mother. “Thank god for one of the parents on our team who’s son goes through this. She jumped into action and helped out.”

Shama’ar was taken to Wesley Children’s Hospital. He went into surgery after doctors found a brain bleed.

“They were able to stop his brain bleed and get everything situated. But, he hasn’t woke up ever since. He’s breathing on his own, but he hasn’t woken up since,” said Cornwell.

Shama’ar’s family decided to go to Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City for a second opinion and hopefully to find the root cause of the injury.

“He’s a spectacular kid and for this to happen, there’s no words to describe the things he’s going through. It just hurts me,” said Cornwell.

If you wish to help Shama’ar and his family, here is a link to the GoFundMe.

Copyright 2025 KWCH. All rights reserved. To report a correction or typo, please email [email protected]

Slimy residue, ‘brownish splatter stains,’ a chef who didn’t wash his hands after pulling up his pants, cockroaches crawling around a coffee station, mouse poop, outdated meats, food contamination risks and more are among violations Kansas Department of Agriculture inspectors discovered during recent food safety and lodging inspections in the Wichita area.

Each week, The Eagle adds to its searchable database of failed inspections from Sedgwick County. Seventeen restaurants, hotels and other businesses were non-compliant with state rules from April 13-19.

Inspectors found few or no violations at more than 70 other businesses deemed compliant with food safety and lodging rules.

Inspections are meant to protect the public from foodborne illnesses and other health risks. Violations are common. Businesses can fail if they have too many problems, certain types of violations or issues that can’t be fixed right away. But most of the time, they correct issues in front of an inspector.

Examples of things that can be addressed immediately are serving food that’s more than a week old, employees mishandling ingredients and dirty kitchens. Issues that take longer to correct include pest infestations, power outages and plumbing problems.

It’s rare, but a business may temporarily shut down over violations. Places that fail are usually reinspected within 10 days.

The list in this story was compiled on April 24 using information available from the state on that date. The list contains places in Sedgwick County. But you can search food and lodging inspection results elsewhere in Kansas at https://foodsafety.kda.ks.gov/FoodSafety/Web/Inspection/PublicInspectionSearch.aspx.

Bierocks Babe, 1017 W. Douglas in Wichita — Five violations on April 19 during a joint inspection. Violations include not logging the time food was put out in the display case, no food thermometer available, truck has a water dispenser but no bucket to catch wastewater behind its food tent, no soap available at hand-washing station, no hot water at hand-washing station. Next inspection: May 3.

Bowlero Wichita, 11413 E. 13th St. in Wichita — One violation on April 16 during a modified complaint inspection. The main water heater pipes had severe corrosion. The business was in compliance at a follow-up inspection the next day.

The Bunnery, 1025 W. 29th St. North in Wichita — Four violations on April 16 during a joint inspection. Violations include dozens of “blackish” and gray or white rodent droppings found in various locations, no mouse traps on site, “brownish splatter stains” on wall behind sheet pans, food buildup and cobwebs on storage racks, one- to two-inch gap under the receiving door is allowing pest entry, business was using a frayed wire brush that isn’t approved for use in a food facility, brush has bristles that could break off and contaminate food, cheese wasn’t cold enough in a reach-in cooler. Next inspection: April 26.

Chucherias Y Mas (mobile vendor/food truck), 118 N. Mount Carmel in Wichita — Four violations on April 13 during a routine inspection. Violations include tortilla chips stored in a plastic T-shirt bag instead of a food-grade container, probe-style food thermometer doesn’t work, ceviche and salsa weren’t cold enough in refrigeration, no paper towels at the hand-washing sink. Next inspection: April 23.

El Capitan Seafood & Grill, 410 N. Hillside in Wichita — Fifteen violations on April 18 during a routine inspection. Violations include shrimp broth that wasn’t kept cold enough, chipped and cracked spatula, dirty thermometer, hand-washing sink couldn’t be used because it was full of dishes, cactus was stored in a bag instead of a food-grade container, cook didn’t change gloves or wash hands between touching raw shrimp and raw eggs and ready-to-eat food and clean plates, hot water faucets don’t work, employee rinsed hands at the wrong sink before putting on gloves, pans of raw shrimp and raw fish were stored above ready-to-eat foods like pineapple and crab meat, employee dried their hands on their apron after washing, “brown slimy residue” on soda fountain nozzles, fly strips hanging over food preparation areas and where clean dishes are stored, no hot water at hand-washing sink, sticker and food residue was soiling clean pans, clean ladles were soiled with dirty dish water, bottle of cleaner was hanging over clean plates. Next inspection: April 28.

Freezing Moo, 2684 N. Greenwich Court, Suite 200 in Wichita — Two violations on April 18 during a routine inspection. Violations include no test strips to test the concentration of sanitizer, food probe thermometer wasn’t working. Next inspection: April 28.

Home2 Suites By Hilton Wichita Downtown Delano, 200 N. Sycamore in Wichita — Four violations on April 16 during a routine inspection. Violations include bowls of apples on the front counter that weren’t covered to protect them from contamination, can of whipped topping wasn’t labeled with its package opening date, outdated chicken sausage, no food probe thermometer on site. Next inspection: April 26.

Jersey Mike’s Subs, 2564 N. Greenwich, Suite 550 in Wichita — Three violations on April 15 during a routine inspection. Violations include an employee who touched food after handling sanitizer, chicken salad wasn’t kept cold enough, water temperature at sink wasn’t hot enough. Next inspection: April 25.

Maize South High School, 3701 N. Tyler Road in Maize — Three violations on April 16 during a routine inspection. Violations include fresh and old rodent droppings in chemical storage rooms, half- to one-inch gap at the bottom of an exterior door and in ceiling tiles could be allowing pests to get in the building. Next inspection: April 26.

Mark 8 Inn, 1130 N. Broadway in Wichita — Seven violations on April 15 during an inspection that was a follow-up to an administrative order. Violations include long-term rented rooms that aren’t being serviced every five days, exit signs and emergency lights don’t work, dirty hallway floors, mold in bathtub caulking, foul odor in building, burn holes in duvet cover, evacuation route was missing from a room. Next inspection: June 15.

Newman University, 3100 W. McCormick in Wichita — Twelve violations on April 14 during a routine inspection. Violations include no written plan for cleaning up vomiting and diarrhea incidents, chef was seen “pulling up his pants” then putting on gloves to touch food without washing his hands, bleach and other chemicals weren’t labeled, melted butter and chicken weren’t kept hot enough, missing procedures related to handling premade pizzas, dirty slicer, open drink cups and yogurt sitting by gloves near a tray of frozen sausage, yogurt wasn’t kept cold enough, shredded cheese and potato salad weren’t kept cold enough, no test strips on site for measuring the concentration of sanitizer, no hand-washing sink in front area of coffee shop, table of baked goods weren’t protected from contamination, dairy foods and lettuce were labeled with the wrong dates. Next inspection: April 24.

Panera Bread, 1605 N. Rock Road in Wichita — Five violations on April 16 during a routine inspection. Violations include no hand-washing sink in food preparation and dishwashing areas, food was thawing and cooling in a sink with a direct connection to the sewage system, employee working at cash register didn’t wash her hands before touching bread, dirty ladles, unlabeled chemical containers. Next inspection: May 16.

Panera Bread, 3337 E. Central in Wichita — Two violations on April 14 during a complaint inspection. Violations include living and dead cockroaches at coffee station behind counter and in dishwashing area, no paper towels at hand-washing sink. Next inspection: April 24.

Pizza Hut, 1032 S. Oliver in Wichita — One violation on April 15 during a routine inspection. There was no food probe thermometer in the restaurant. Next inspection: April 25.

Reverie Coffee Roasters, 2202 E. Douglas in Wichita — Five violations on April 17 during a routine inspection. Violations include butter wasn’t kept cold enough, outdated spinach artichoke dip and lumpia filling, dirty meat slicer, contamination risk related to a sprayer nozzle at a dishwashing sink, no sanitizer in dishwashing machine. Next inspection: April 27.

Savor at Century II, 225 W. Douglas in Wichita — Five violations on April 17 during a routine inspection. Violations include the business not following an approved plan for vacuum sealing food, outdated deli meats, pork wasn’t labeled with the correct date it was removed from the freezer, dirty meat slicer and vegetable dicer, business was missing paperwork related to cooling meat that is vacuum sealed. Next inspection: May 17.

Side Pockets, 614 S. Tyler Road in Wichita — Nine violations on April 15 during a routine inspection. Violations include no hot water at restroom sink, compound butter wasn’t kept cold enough, dead insect in whiskey bottle, cream wasn’t labeled with the date the package was opened, outdated green beans, no paper towels at hand-washing sinks at the bar, unlabeled chemical containers, business didn’t have the correct sanitizer testing kit, dirty pizza pans, improperly cooled taco meat. Next inspection: April 25.

If you see problems at a food or lodging establishment, you can file a complaint.

To notify the state about unsavory or questionable conditions anywhere that serves or sells food to the public, email [email protected] or call 785-564-6767. You can also file a complaint at www.foodsafetykansas.org.

To report an illness you think was caused by a restaurant, food or event where food was served, contact the Kansas Department of Health and Environment at 877-427-7317 or www.foodsafetykansas.org.

Complaints about conditions at hotels and motels can be submitted at www.agriculture.ks.gov/public-resources/comments-complaints/lodging-complaint.

For more information about foodborne illnesses, visit www.foodsafety.gov.

Note: Sometimes addresses listed — especially for mobile vendors and food trucks — are not where food is actually served to the public. Contact those establishments directly for specific service locations.

The violation summaries were compiled and drafted with the help of AI tools. They were fact-checked for accuracy and edited by Wichita Eagle journalists.

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - After nearly 25 years in business in Wichita, a popular medical spa in Wichita is closing its doors. Healing Waters performs services that include Botox injections, skin massages, skin rejuvenation, and more.

Healing Waters, located in Bradley Fair, confirmed its closure plans last week, an announcement that surprised many.

“Any time I’ve been in there, it’s been a great experience, so it was pretty shocking when we heard they were closing,” said customer Kelly Pickering.

The medical spa’s announcement came in a Facebook post that read as follows:

To Our Cherished Community,

After almost 25 beautiful years, it is with a full heart and deep emotion that we share the news that Healing Waters will be closing its doors. Our final day of operation will be May 14th.

Words cannot fully express the gratitude we feel for each and every one of you who has walked through our doors. Your trust, support, and presence have meant the world to us. Together, we’ve built more than a wellness space—we’ve created a sanctuary, a community, and a place of peace and connection. It has been our greatest joy to share in your journeys, offer moments of calm, and get to know the wonderful individuals who made Healing Waters what it is.

As we move into our next chapter, we carry with us the countless memories, laughter, and heartfelt exchanges we’ve been so fortunate to experience with you. We hope to see many of your familiar faces in the coming weeks, so we can share a warm goodbye and heartfelt thank you in person.

With love and endless appreciation,

The Healing Waters Team

The announcement comes a few weeks after the spa’s head plastic surgeon departed to focus on his practice. The spa confirmed that it’s accepting appointments until its final day on May 14.

Copyright 2025 KWCH. All rights reserved. To report a correction or typo, please email [email protected]

WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) - Thousands of people are filling Vatican City to pay their respects to Pope Francis following his death on Monday morning.

Father Marco De Loera was one of the people in the crowd. He serves as the Parochial Vicar at the Church of the Magdalen in northeast Wichita. He says he was originally going to Rome for a special mass to take place the week after Easter, but after seeing the Pope had passed away, the celebrations quickly turned to mourning.

"You know, he was the Pope that cared a lot about the marginalized. That cared about the poor, the sick, he was such a compassionate Pope," he said while reflecting on the Pope's life and teachings.

He says it was a day full of mixed emotions.

"It was a beautiful, solemn moment for everybody," he said when talking about what it was like to see the late Pope.

He says thousands of people were flooding the area as they all waited to say their goodbyes.

During the hours-long wait, he says people talked about the Pope and how impactful he had been. Then, finally, he got to the front. He says he was standing five feet away from the body of the Holy Father in his casket.

"Never imagined to be part of this history for the whole world and for the Catholic Church," he said while talking about the moment and what it means to him, adding that it is a day he will always remember.

He says there's been a sense of community since he arrived in Rome. Tuesday evening, he joined others for a mass at St. Peter’s Basilica.

"It was very shocking to be at mass knowing that we don't have a Holy Father anymore," he said.

He explains there's a lot of uncertainty in the Catholic Church right now because of the Pope's passing. The Cardinals will select the next pope, but it could take weeks or even months.

"It's like now what? You know what's going to happen with the Catholic church, but we know God always provides," Father Marco said while saying he knows everything will be okay.