Torchy’s Tacos founder responds to closures; also, what to do with unused gift cards

Torchy’s Tacos is leaving the Wichita market as quietly as it entered it.

Both Wichita Torchy’s restaurants closed without notice after business Sunday.

In response to a query from The Wichita Eagle, the Austin-based chain e-mailed a statement from Mike Rypka, Torchy’s founder and CEO, about what it called “the difficult decision to close.”

“We opened during the height of COVID, and simply put, we did not have the sales volume to continue in Wichita,” the statement said.

“This was one of the hardest decisions the company has had to make in its 16-year history and does not reflect the amazingly talented, hard-working teams that led our Wichita stores for the past two years.”

The company said it is paying employees through the end of 2022 because it knows “this news greatly affects our employees, especially during the holiday season.”

Torchy’s had been rumored to be coming to Wichita for years before it signed a lease for the former Mattress Firm space at 21st and Rock Road, which was better known as the longtime Clark’s Fine Jewelers site on the southwest corner. That was in August 2019, and the restaurant didn’t open until September 2020.

Then in May 2020, the company started the permitting process for a site north of HomeGrown on North Maize Road.

The company didn’t comment about either opening at the time.

Now, competitor Fuzzy’s Taco Shop sees an opportunity with the Torchy’s closures by letting Torchy’s customers know they can redeem Torchy’s gift cards at Fuzzy’s.

“We want to give them an opportunity to try Fuzzy’s and hopefully make them a Fuzzy’s fan,” said Whitney Reitz, the Fuzzy’s operating partner for Wichita.

If you have a gift card, you can e-mail wichita@fuzzystacoshop.com with the information.

Reitz said she’s asking people to e-mail about the cards in order to keep the process organized, especially since the chain just opened its third site and has a lot of new staff members.

That new Fuzzy’s is at NewMarket Square. The other two Fuzzy’s restaurants in Wichita are at Wichita State University and near Central and Rock Road.

The chain also will honor the holiday coupon deal that Torchy’s, like Fuzzy’s, offers. Both chains have deals where customers who buy a $25 gift card during December then receive a $5 voucher to spend in January. Anyone with those vouchers can walk in and use them in January instead of having to e-mail first.

The final part of Rypka’s statement thanked Wichita customers “for their support over the past two years.”

“We are forever grateful to the Wichita community and look forward to continuing to serve Damn Good Tacos at our nearby locations in Overland Park, Olathe and Kansas City.”