Argentina's Empanadas is going big on Wichita's east side. Owners Chad Freeman and Carolina Brandan are turning the former Joy Tea space at 11414 E. Central into a full-service restaurant complete with a drive-through window, and they're hoping to have it ready around Thanksgiving, according to The Wichita Eagle.
The strip-center space had been home to boba shop Joy Tea until earlier this year, according to the Wichita Eagle. Freeman and Brandan have been quietly remodeling the space for some time, and Freeman said they didn't want to announce the project too early. The new location will give them something their current setup doesn't have: a larger space built for both baking and dine-in service.
Customers can expect the drive-through to be put to use right away, with the restaurant planning to open around 7 a.m. for coffee, breakfast empanadas and pastries, per the same report. Weekend nights could see hours stretch to around 10 p.m., though that later closing time is still just a possibility rather than a locked-in schedule.
Beer, Wine and a Couple of New Sandwiches
The new restaurant plans to serve coffee and refresher drinks alongside beer, wine and some mixed drinks, a notable step up from the food truck and to-go shop. Freeman was clear about the intent behind the bar: “We're not going to try and be a bar,” he said, according to the Eagle's report. The menu will also grow to include a couple of sandwiches, which Freeman said is meant to add flexibility without changing what the business is at its core.
That evolution has been underway for years. Freeman and Brandan started selling empanadas out of their home at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, eventually learning a commercial kitchen was legally required and moving operations to Reverie Roasters' kitchen. By spring 2022 they were selling empanadas out of Anchor Meat Market at 1113 E. Douglas, a setup that was always meant to be temporary, as reported by The Wichita Eagle.
From Food Truck Fame to a Second Storefront
The couple's profile rose considerably after they appeared on season 17 of Food Network's The Great Food Truck Race, hosted by celebrity chef Tyler Florence, placing third and building a national following in the process, as noted by The Wichita Eagle. Their food truck remains a regular vendor at the Old Town Farm & Art Market and is still used for empanada preparation; Freeman and Brandan plan to keep running it even as the new restaurant comes together.
In December 2024, the pair opened a to-go location in Clifton Square in College Hill, which has an outdoor patio for seating but no kitchen of its own — empanadas are brought in daily from the truck. That shop was covered at the time by Yahoo Lifestyle, which reported it was open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays and offered a $12.50 special with two empanadas, a drink, chips and a dipping sauce. Freeman and Brandan plan to keep the Clifton Square location open once the east-side restaurant launches.
Argentina's Empanadas sells fillings like beef, chicken, caramelized onions and smoked ham, the same lineup that has carried the business from a home kitchen to a food truck, a temporary meat-market arrangement, a to-go shop and now a planned sit-down restaurant. Demand for the empanadas climbed after the Food Truck Race appearance, the Eagle has reported previously. Freeman said he'll share an update once an exact opening date is set for the new location.
