Downtown Wichita adding steak restaurant offering upscale feel without upscale prices
Downtown Wichita is about to get a new steak-and-potatoes restaurant that will be priced for the “working man.”
Longtime restaurant manager and bartender Dave Jewett — whose resume includes stints at places like Gaslamp Grille, Larkspur, YaYa’s, Bella Luna and Gianni Bacci’s — says he’s two weeks away from launching his first solo restaurant, which he’ll call Forge ICT.
Jewett has targeted April 26 as the soft opening date for the restaurant, which is taking over the space at 917 E. Douglas where District Taqueria operated for nearly eight years before closing the doors in November.
Jewett, who attended high school in Andover and started his restaurant career in Wichita, moved to the East Coast for several years and recently returned. When he did, he was shocked, he said, to see how high Wichita restaurant prices were.
“The average consumer can’t spend $160 on a regular basis to go out to eat,” he said.
After polling people online, he decided on a meat-and-potatoes steakhouse with affordable prices. A direct competitor for Forge ICT, he said, would be someplace like LongHorn Steakhouse.
The menu will be small and manageable and feature a Flat Iron steak, chicken piccata, a bone-in pork-chop and salmon. Several entrees will be priced at around $20. The menu will also include other higher-end, more expensive steak cuts, including a filet.
“Basically, you’ll build your own,” Jewett said. “You’ll pick a sauce and a side and build your meal how you want.”
The restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner, he said. He hopes to draw downtown workers from places like Cargill next door over the lunch hour, when he’ll add salads and sandwiches to the menu. One sandwich he’s planning is a “true Philly cheesesteak” made with Cheez Whiz on bread made in Philadelphia
Forge ICT will also offer a pepito — a South American street food item that features a gutted hoagie stuffed with french fries, cheese, steak, onions and a cilantro lime sauce then topped with arugula, pico de gallo and chimichurri.
The restaurant’s dessert menu will feature cheesecake from Wichita Cheesecake Company plus house-made creme brulee, flourless chocolate cake and tiramisu.
The full bar will feature several innovative cocktails, including a see-through margarita and an inverted mojito. It’ll also have several different wines and beer on tap. Jewett says he hopes to have the liquor license approved before he opens, but if it’s not ready in time, he’ll open without it and add bar service later.
Jewett said he didn’t have to do much remodeling inside the restaurant — mostly just deep cleaning. He’s added little decorative touches here and there that he hopes will give the restaurant “some upscale feel without an upscale price.”
