Blaze Pizza fans waiting for the build-your-own pizza chain to return to Wichita will have to keep waiting, but franchise owner Paul McCrae says a reopening is still coming in 2026.

McCrae, the Omaha-based owner of Wichita's Blaze Pizza franchise, told the Wichita Eagle that the planned move to the Regency Lakes development at 21st and Greenwich has hit a snag. The restaurant needs approval to place a walk-in cooler outside its new space, and that permitting process is dragging.

"We're going to reopen … I thought we would be building by now, but I guess wheels move slow," McCrae said.

Blaze closed its Greenwich Place location at 2692 N. Greenwich Road on May 11 after opening there in 2017. A social media post at the time promised a summer reopening at Regency Lakes. That timeline has slipped.

McCrae said he planned to visit Wichita the week of Aug. 24 to evaluate two additional sites. If one works, he said, things could move quickly because Blaze buildouts are mostly cosmetic once a space is secured. He promised an update when he had one.

Dave's Hot Chicken moves in

Meanwhile, the former Blaze space already has a new tenant lined up. Dave's Hot Chicken, a Nashville-style hot chicken chain, filed a $550,000 building permit in April to remodel the Greenwich Place location. Construction appeared underway as of Aug. 24, according to the Eagle.

The Wichita location will be operated by brothers Jason and John Hotchkiss and their business partner Paul Gorman, who together have opened Dave's Hot Chicken restaurants in San Antonio. Pierce Gorman, Paul's 23-year-old son, and his wife Hannah will oversee day-to-day operations, according to QSR Magazine. The family's franchise business stretches back 42 years to Pierce Gorman's grandparents.

The operators initially targeted a third-quarter 2026 opening, meaning sometime between July 1 and Sept. 30. QSR Magazine reported an anticipated August 2026 opening, though Dave's Hot Chicken had not confirmed a specific date as of Aug. 24.

Dave's Hot Chicken serves hot chicken tenders, sliders and bites with spice levels ranging from "No Spice" to "Reaper," plus sides like mac and cheese, kale slaw and fries. The restaurant sits in the Greenwich Place shopping center at K-96 and Greenwich on Wichita's east side.

McCrae said he expects Blaze Pizza back in Wichita before the end of 2026, though no specific location or opening date has been confirmed.