Longtime friends teaming up to open daiquiri lounge, restaurant near Central & Hillside

A new food-and-drink business is about to take over the space at 2800 E. Central that most recently was home to the short-lived SmokeHouse ICT.

Friends of more than 20 years Tracy Allen and Toji Jones have signed a lease on the space, and early next year, they plan to open their T&T Daiquiri Lounge there. They’ll serve different flavors of the rum-based frozen drinks from six machines, and they’ll also offer a food menu that includes things like chicken wings, burgers and catfish. The menu will also have vegetarian fare.

The pair, who met while working at a local nursing home, had been impressed by daiquiri lounges they’d visited in Texas and Missouri.

“We feel like Wichita needs one so you don’t have to drive so many hours away,” Allen said.

The duo said this is their first foray into the restaurant business, though Allen also owns Lois’ House senior living facility in Wichita. They liked the SmokeHouse ICT space — which in recent years has also been home to restaurants like Kiko’s, Mo’s Hut and Wings & Things — because of its location and its big kitchen.

They just need to do a little cleaning and touch-up work inside to get the business ready, but they’re giving themselves until early 2023 to open the doors, Jones said.

Stay tuned for more details on the restaurant as opening day gets closer.