Final day for this restaurant at its original address is almost here. But there’s hope.
So far this spring, the weather has been cooperating with Cafe Bel Ami owner Nabil Bacha, whose air conditioning has been out since September.
But it looks like that cooperation will be coming to an end next week, when temperatures are expected to climb into the low 90s — and the day the restaurant’s fans have been dreading is now almost here.
Saturday will be the last day that Cafe Bel Ami, which has operated at 229 E. William since 1988, will be open at that address. As he told Dining with Denise in March, Bacha has to leave the historic O’Rourke Title Building where the restaurant operates because of a broken air conditioning unit that will take at least 14 months to repair.
“I owe it to my customers to let them know,” Bacha said. “As of next week, it’s going to hit over 85 and it’s going to be intolerable.”
But there’s hope that Wichita won’t be without Cafe Bel Ami for long. Bacha said he thinks he has found a new spot for the restaurant and is hoping to finalize the deal right away. Once he does, he’ll be able to share the exact address, where he hopes to reopen within three months.
Once the deal is signed, I’ll publish an update.
Bacha — whose long history with Wichita restaurants started in the 1980s at Antoine Toubia’s famous Cafe Chantilly — has over the past 26 years developed a devoted following for Cafe Bel Ami, a French-inspired Mediterranean restaurant known for its quiet, elegant dining room. The restaurant has long been a favorite lunch spot for downtown workers and dinner destination for people attending shows downtown.
But the air conditioning in the building has been failing for years and hasn’t been working since September, Bacha said in March. The building’s new owner, Marv Schellenberg of Shellenberg Development Company, has been more than accommodating, Bacha said, but repairing the air conditioning will be a complicated project that will involve ripping out ceilings. Bacha made the tough decision to move the cafe.
He’s hopeful about the new space, mainly because he wants to keep his longtime employees with him. He’s offered to let them stay on and help with the move.
“I just want the transition to happen as soon as possible for them to be able to sustain their living,” he said. “The longer I stay out of business, that would hurt them.”
Bacha said that since he announced his plans to leave his original downtown address, he’s been flooded with suggestions from his customers. West-siders say he should move west. East-siders say he should move east. The rest think he needs to stay downtown.
“I’ve been getting two or three phone calls a day on a daily basis,” he said.
The restaurant’s hours will be 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. today through Friday and 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday.
Stay tuned for an update on Cafe Bel Ami’s new address.
Favorite Wichita restaurant has to leave its home of 26 years. Owner hunting for new spot.
