WICHITA — Ben Arnold confirms what Have You Heard? reported last week: He’s taking over the restaurant operation at Cargill’s Wichita headquarters where Piccadilly Express used to be.
Which leaves one big question for the guy who has already taken on new headquarters for his Corporate Caterers of Wichita and struck a deal to do the restaurant and catering at the Broadview Hotel and still has his catering space at Douglas and West:
Is he a crazy man?
“It’s not as big as it seems,” Arnold says of taking on one more thing.
The new restaurant will open in mid-November or early December.
It will be called Cafe 151 for its address at 151 N. Main.
The cafe will be open weekdays from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. for breakfast and lunch.
All breakfasts will be $4 or under, and all lunches will be $6 or under.
Arnold says his agreement with Cargill will allow him to serve food at reasonable prices.
“It’s a two-way street,” he says.
“I have a long-term relationship with Cargill. I’ve been catering for them for the last 10 years. They know me very well.”
The 1,800-square-foot restaurant will seat about 50, including the lobby area.
Arnold has already polled Cargill employees to see what they want in the restaurant.
“This is designed for the Cargill employees first.”
Others are welcome at the restaurant as well.
Arnold says he’d like to hire some of the workers who used to be at Piccadilly, which closed last month after 13 years when owner Latour Management was informed it wasn’t in the running to continue operating there.
“Piccadilly was graded highly on how well they took care of people,” Arnold says.
He says about 60 percent of his menu will rotate on a regular basis to serve a variety of dishes.
At lunch, Arnold says he’ll offer a lot of healthy fare, including a salad bar.
For breakfast, he’ll serve full meals “plus all the goodies that you can get on the side,” such as pastries and doughnuts.
So once he gets the cafe going, what new deal is on the horizon for Arnold?
“That’s all I have today,” he says.
Arnold notes, though, that he’s turned down several other offers.
“My phone rings a lot, but it always has.”
