Downtown developer Sudha Tokala told Have You Heard? that Jinya Ramen Bar was in danger of closing if she couldn’t resolve a parking dispute with the city, and now that’s what has happened.
The question is, is the closure permanent?
The Jinya website says the closure is temporary.
“We will reopen once the city provides parking as per my parking agreement,” Tokala said via text.
However, it appears she and the city are at an impasse about that agreement.
Jinya, which Tokala opened in April 2023, is in the old Henry’s building at William and Broadway, which is now WSU Tech’s National Institute for Culinary and Hospitality Education, or NICHE.
At issue is what parking the restaurant is left with after Tokala voluntarily gave away her parking lot for the new Wichita Biomedical Campus.
“We are very sorry to hear that Ms. Tokala feels this is her only option,” city spokeswoman Megan Lovely said, also via text, about the closure. “We don’t want to see any business shutter, even temporarily.”
Tokala, a pharmacist-turned-developer, has worked with the city on various issues for years after buying five large commercial buildings downtown. They’re all clustered in the same area where she put the Kansas Health Science Center and its Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine. She’s also working on student housing there and is opening a Marriott hotel later this year, though she said the parking issue may affect that, too.
“We recognize, respect, and appreciate her partnership and the investments she is making on important new projects as she is helping to catalyze the growth and vitality of our downtown core,” Lovely said in her text.
“However, we feel we have made every good faith effort and gone above and beyond the terms of our agreement to try to accommodate both her and her tenants’ parking needs. . . . We strongly disagree with her interpretation of the terms and conditions of the agreement, and while we may be in dispute on this issue, we have and will continue to try and work with her to resolve the issue.”
Tokala said there’s a potential wider impact on the city’s new plans for paid downtown parking.
“If enforced, they could lead many businesses to consider relocating or even closing. Downtown may also become less attractive for new restaurants and retail stores, especially given the added burden of parking fees on top of the extra CID taxes and higher property taxes we’re already paying through TIF and CID districts.”
Tokala said she’s especially frustrated just as downtown seems to be revitalizing.
“When I began renovating nearly 700,000 square feet of commercial space, the area was practically a ghost town. Implementing these parking fees now risks undoing the progress we’ve made, costing jobs and undermining the hard work and resources that so many, including myself, have invested.
“Moving forward, everything depends on the city manager’s office and how important they consider my business to the community — whether I receive the parking as specified in my agreement and whether I’m compensated for any business losses due to a breach of contract.”
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