This west Wichita restaurant closed on Sunday. Contents will be auctioned off next week.
In the fall of 2019, the owners of Hibachi Boy in Derby opened a new location in Wichita — at 21st and Tyler.
Now, that restaurant is closed, and its contents will be auctioned off next week.
Lou Kumgool, who started the Hibachi Boy franchise with her husband, Philip Sayvong, said the other two Hibachi Boy restaurants — at 3010 E. Central and at 1220 N. Rock Road in Derby — will remain open.
Tom Meier hopes to reopen the Tyler restaurant, which he owned and operated, in the future, and he’s targeting Andover. Meier decided to close the restaurant at 2243 N. Tyler after he couldn’t come to an agreement with his landlord on terms for a new lease, which was set to expire on Sept. 30, Kumgool said.
Sunday was the final day for the Hibachi Boy on Tyler, she said.
Kumgool and Sayvong opened the first Hibachi Boy — a quick service restaurant offering hibachi meals, sushi, fried rice and more — in Derby in 2011. They added a restaurant at Kellogg and Greenwich in 2015. But not long after they opened, they learned they’d have to close the Wichita restaurant because of Kellogg construction at the intersection.
The couple got some money as part of a turnpike relocation program and saved it for three years before deciding to add the restaurant on Tyler. The Central and Hillside restaurant followed in 2022.
One other change is coming for the Hibachi Boy brand, Kumgool said. The restaurant on Central will soon be adding Thai street food items to its menu, including Thai fried chicken. Kumgool said she’d share more details once they finalized the menu.
Meanwhile, Bud Palmer Auction will be selling the Tyler restaurant’s contents at an on-site auction that starts at 9 a.m. on Sept. 18.