Back in September, the most recent owners of The Donut Whole at 1720 E. Douglas announced on social media that they would be closing the shop until further notice.
Now, there’s confirmation that it’s actually closed for good. And the iconic East Douglas space that’s crowned by the statue of a rooster named Ed is now for lease.
Michael Moeder of Moeder & Associates now has the listing for the space and just put “for lease” signs up in the windows. He said that the current operators of The Donut Whole hadn’t said for sure what their plans for the space were after they shut down last month. But last week, they turned over the keys.
The building’s owner, Rhandalee Hinman, is looking for a new tenant for the space, and Moeder says it would be a great location for any kind of food business. It has 3,000 square feet and a 20-foot hood — one of the biggest expenses when putting a restaurant together. It also has a drive-through window, which is rare for that part of town.
He said he’s heard from people who think the space would be perfect for another doughnut shop, a bagel shop or even a hamburger restaurant.
“It would really be open to just about anything,” Moeder said. “The owner would like to have something else cool and local in there.”
The Donut Whole was one of the earliest businesses to open during the Douglas Design District renaissance, which has seen lots of unique bars, restaurants, breweries and coffee shops open in the area. Michael Carmody and Angela Mallory originally opened the restaurant, which specialized in cake doughnuts with colorful, unexpected toppings, in 2009.
Mallory died in 2015, then in 2018, Carmody filed for bankruptcy protection and sold the shop to local developer Abdul Arif and his partners, Tariq and Raissa Azmi. They also opened an east-side Donut Whole at 3750 N. Woodlawn, but it lasted for only a year.
In late 2019, Melissa and Ahmed Ramy Salem — who once owned a restaurant called Taste of Times Square in downtown Wichita — took over the shop and had been running it ever since.
Moeder said that anyone interested in leasing the space should call him at 316-264-8530.
This story was originally published October 28, 2024 3:11 PM.
.jpg)