The west-side restaurant space that Bann Thai vacated over the summer now has a new tenant

The little restaurant space in the Woodbridge Center strip mall at 13th and West Street has been vacant since June, when Bann Thai owner Wanwaree Jackson lost her lease after eight years.

She eventually reopened Bann Thai at 5255 N. Maize Road, and now, there’s a new tenant in her former spot.

Ben’s Big Bowl , owned by Ben Nguyen and his wife, Quyen Do, started its soft opening in the space on Friday. The restaurant serves authentic Vietnamese fare like pho, beef noodles, shrimp and crab meatball noodles and dumpling noodles.

Nguyen said that he and his wife are foodies who felt like Wichita didn’t have many great Vietnamese restaurants.

“We ended up having to cook for ourselves,” he said.

Nguyen worked in Chinese restaurants growing up, and the couple has relatives in Vietnam who own restaurants. They decided to give the restaurant business a go.

The owners plan to serve a limited menu of favorite dishes and also offer a rotating menu of specials every week. The kitchen at the restaurant isn’t big enough to do much more, Nguyen said. (Over the weekend, they also offered Vietnamese beef stew.)

Ben’s Big Bowl originally opened earlier this year as a to-go and delivery business. Customers were previously able to pick up the food at a local Asian market or have it brought to their homes or businesses. The business also offered catering.

Nguyen said he wanted to test his concept to see if it would work before expanding it.

“We were going to take it step by step with food to-go and catering. We were even looking for a food truck, and then I found out this place was available and we went to take a look at it and fell in love with it,” he said. “There was a need for a Vietnamese restaurant somewhere close to the west side, and I thought it was perfect, and we took the plunge.”

The new restaurant, which is in the same strip center where JJ Beard’s Pub & Pizza opened in August, offers table service and has room for about 30 diners. The restaurant is also available to rent for private parties after hours: It has its own karaoke system, and though it doesn’t serve alcohol, people who rent the space can bring their own beverages and food if they choose, Nguyen said.

The hours at Ben’s Big Bowl are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays.

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