WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) - Representatives for Torchy's Tacos have confirmed to KAKE News that both of its Wichita locations are now closed.

KAKE News visited the Rock road location Sunday and saw a sign on the door stating that the closure was only temporary, and that it would reopen shortly. After calls to both locations to confirm that information, a voicemail prompt noted that a temporary closure was not the case; and that both locations would be closing permanently.

The Torchy's Tacos location on Maize Road opened in 2021. The east Wichita location opened in 2020.

Torchy's Founder and CEO Mike Rypka released the following statement:

"After a thorough evaluation of our business, we have made the difficult decision to close our two Wichita restaurants as of Sunday, December 11, 2022. We opened during the height of COVID, and simply put, we did not have the sales volume to continue in Wichita.

"This was one of the hardest decisions the company has had to make in its 16-year history and does not reflect the amazingly talented, hard-working teams that led our Wichita stores for the past two years. We know this news greatly affects our employees, especially during the holiday season, and we are doing all we can to support them during this transition, including paying all employees through the end of the year. We are also assisting with job placement in our other Torchy’s locations for managers interested in staying with the company.

"We want to say thank you to our guests for their support over the past two years. We are forever grateful to the Wichita community and look forward to continuing to serve Damn Good Tacos at our nearby locations in Overland Park, Olathe and Kansas City."


KAKE News reached out to multiple former employees Sunday after conflicting accounts regarding when they were notified about the closures. Multiple employees confirmed that employees were notified of an all staff meeting scheduled for 4 p.m. Sunday, but that there had been some issue with an app used to notify employees about the meeting.

"There was probably an emergency notification I think it said at 3 p.m.," said employee Kevin Britt. "But like I'm not even paying attention to my notifications all the time I just slide it up. So I thought it was just something like my schedule had just been posted."

Britt said that he hadn't actually seen the news about the closure until he got a text message from his culinary teacher who had seen the announcement online, and he had read it himself.

"That was the first time I heard about it, I was like, what?" said Britt.

KAKE News asked Britt if there were any signs or communication in the three months he had been on the job that a closure was imminent.

"Really no," said Britt. "Management is pretty transparent with their staff though."

Britt said even after he saw the news online there had been no contact from either his former managers or Torchy's corporate regarding its reasoning for the closure. He added that he feels for some of his former co-workers who rely on the job to make all of their income.

"I don't know if they're able to find somewhere [to work] that fast," said Britt. "And a lot of them were like full-time people there and working every single day."


As of Sunday, it was also unclear how many full-time and part-time employees were out of job.

For those looking to pay the restaurant a visit, the closest location is now in Olathe.