This Wichita burger restaurant just closed but will reopen soon, likely on the east side

Customers at Social Tap Drinkery — the unique bar in the Braeburn Square development at Wichita State University — may have noticed that a favorite piece of the business is missing.

The bar, which opened in July 2021 at 4510 E. 10th St., featured two attached restaurant concepts that operated out of kiosks in the same space as the bar: Sungrano Pizza, which opened at the same time Social Tap did, and Wheatly’s Burgers, which followed a few months later.

Wheatly’s, though, quietly closed last week, leaving customers wondering what happened to it and its menu of “backyard burgers,” hot dogs, fries, tots and milkshakes.

Justin Neel, one of the partners behind Social Tap and the two attached restaurants, said that Wheatly’s closure is only temporary, but when it reopens, it won’t be at Braeburn Square.

Instead, the partners are planning to move the burger restaurant to a new spot, preferably somewhere on the east side, where it can operate on its own. The owners are seriously considering two different spaces, he said, and are trying to decide which one to take.

In the meantime, Sungrano is expanding and will take over the Wheatly’s space. The pizza concept needs more room, Neel said, because it’s preparing to add both Detroit and New York-style pizza to its list of offerings.

“It was a tough decision, but ultimately it made more sense to move Wheatly’s than try and move out my current two pizza ovens, which are built into the wall,” he said.

The new pizza options will be rolled out this week and next, Neel said, and Sungrano is also adding a long list of sandwiches to its menu.

Neel said he’s not sure when the owners will get Wheatly’s back up and running but he hopes it will be soon. The concept has a good following, he said, and the owners would eventually like to add Wheatly’s restaurants downtown and on the west side as well.

The owners of Social Tap also own both Sungrano and Wheatly’s but treat the businesses as three separate entities. Social Tap has a unique setup in which people order food from their phones while enjoying beer at the bar.

Neel said he’d update me when the owners settled on a new spot for Wheatly’s.