A new lakeside restaurant is coming to west Wichita this year

A couple of years after picking out property for a west-side Deano’s Grill & Tapworks, John Arnold is now ready to build it.

The restaurant will be on a lake, Pier 37, near 37th North and Ridge Road next to Legacy Bank. It will be known as Deano’s Grill & Tapworks at Pier 37.

“My wife picked out that property, and we bought it right before COVID,” Arnold said.

Then his wife, Darla, died in early 2022.

A year earlier, though, Arnold said, “She texted me right whenever she drove by (the property) and took a picture. She said, ‘This is a perfect spot.’ ”

Arnold said he didn’t want to be in the 21st and Maize Road area, where he’s seen a lot of restaurants come and go.

Part of the appeal of the lakefront property is that the restaurant will have two patios overlooking Pier 37.

There will be a room that can accommodate about 75 people upstairs and will have a patio off of it, and another one below. The entire restaurant will be almost 7,000 square feet.

Arnold describes the Deano’s concept as a sports bar that will have 23 TVs and 23 beers on tap.

However, he’s trying to reproduce the original Deano’s, which, while a sports bar, is a little more upscale.

“It’s more like a true gastropub,” Arnold said.

There’s a diverse menu with salads, steak, seafood, pizzas and burgers.

Arnold said he wants the food, service and sports to all stand on their own.

“They’re different goals we try to achieve to make that experience happen.”

Arnold also owns Oak & Pie and Stearman Airfield Bar & Grill. Last week, he closed his Jax Restaurant and Bar, which is in the same center at 21st and Webb Road where his first Deano’s is.

Look for more details closer to the new Deano’s opening, which should be in about eight months.

Sooner than that, though, look for one more piece of news from Arnold about another new opening, this time in Derby.