New rooftop restaurant to open in downtown Wichita Falls

A new restaurant will open in downtown Wichita Falls this weekend.

The Loft at Picker’s Universe is set to open at 5 p.m. Saturday.

Wayne Moore, the general manager and executive chef, said the restaurant will specialize in Southern comfort food.

“We’ll have steak options, and then we have fried chicken and roasted chicken, catfish, red snapper, meatloaf, pork chops and chicken-fried steak,” Moore said.

The Loft is on the top floor and roof of the Picker’s Universe Antique store at 1000 Indiana Ave.

Moore said the restaurant can be accessed through the store or an outside door on the south side. It will have mixed hours throughout the week and will be closed on Tuesdays.

He said the indoor facility can seat 197 people while the rooftop can accommodate about 30 diners. The restaurant has a full bar.

The business is owned by Kirk Laney and Debra Delena Meyer.

The restaurant was originally touted as a $2.5 million project to include about $1.9 million in tax credits for historical preservation of the vintage building.

The owners requested $385,000 from the city’s Sales Tax Corporation in 2019 and received $133,000 to pay for a fire suppression system.

The project encountered several construction delays over the years.

The 1929-era building was originally built for the Bailey-Moline Hardware Co. by G.W. Filgo, whose name the structure bears.

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: New rooftop restaurant to open in downtown Wichita Falls