"We didn't know anything besides construction," Betsy Merckens told KSHB 41 in late September. She manages Station 3 Coffee, which has watched the Midland Drive reconstruction from the curb since it began.
Her line could be the caption for much of Shawnee right now. Across town, a few long stories are reaching their last chapters within weeks of each other. The empty grocery anchor at 75th Street and Quivira Road is being restocked. A family restaurant that wanted a downtown address for years has one on Nieman Road. And Midland Drive is going into its final phase. None of these finishes is clean. Each one asks for a little more patience before it pays off, and knowing where that last wait sits makes October easier to plan.
The Longest Wait Is at 75th and Quivira
East-side residents have gone without a grocery store at this corner for 18 years. Westbrooke Village opened in 1988 and lost its anchor when Dillons left in 2008. Vacancies grew after that, and the center saw broken windows and graffiti. A redevelopment was first proposed almost 10 years ago. The original developers built only part of it and then stepped away. In 2024 the City Council signed a new agreement with Westbrooke Partners LLC, with tighter terms and clawback provisions on the tax incentives.
The 32-acre site was planned for apartments, retail and a grocery store. As of late July, only the apartments were done. The grocery came next. On September 24, the developer brought KSHB 41 back inside El Mercado Fresco, branded locally as Fresh Market of Shawnee, to show shelves being stocked. The developer said it was eyeing an early October opening. City spokesperson Doug Donahoo had already called the opening "imminent" over the summer, with final inspections underway.
Here is the caveat. No one has published a specific opening day, and earlier targets have slipped. When the city granted a six-month extension earlier this year, the developer expected the store to open before the 2026 FIFA World Cup. "Early October" is the best date anyone has, and it came from the developer.
The rest of the center will fill in after the grocery store does. Reporting has listed the planned tenants by type, with no names yet:
- A Mexican restaurant
- A local barbershop
- A local nail salon
- A coffee-and-donut shop
- A national pizza franchise
KSHB also mentioned plans for a golf simulator and a liquor store. Q Liquor is an existing store the developer planned to keep. One longtime business is staying on 75th Street at a new address. Mi Pueblito Meat Market chose not to renew its lease at the center and is moving to 11200 W. 75th St. Down the street, Pharmacy of Grace held a ribbon-cutting this summer for its Shawnee location at 11644 W. 75th St., inside Mercy & Truth Healthcare Ministry. That gives the stretch around the new grocery store several fresh reasons to stop, all opening within a few months of each other.
Downtown Gains a Restaurant That Wanted to Be There
Downtown Shawnee's finish line is less about construction and more about who wants to be there. Thai Orchid's family announced in March that it would open a Shawnee restaurant at 5907 Nieman Road, near Johnson Drive, with October as the target. "We live in Shawnee," second-generation owner Jonathan Rojjanasrirat told Startland News. He said the family had been "hoping to find the right opportunity here for the past few years."
When he talked about the move, he named his future neighbors: McLain's, Drastic Measures, Wild Child, Transport Brewery, District Pourhouse, Gilda's and Hank's Garage and Grill. A restaurant with more than 35 years in Mission chose to build its next chapter here, and it chose by the company the block keeps. The Mission location at 6504 Martway St. is set to close this fall as the family moves to Shawnee. The Northland location, opened in 2025, is expected to stay open.
The building has its own before-and-after. In 2023 the site was a retail strip of about 14,000 square feet, home to Merigold Retail Liquor and Cigar Outlet. The redevelopment kept the liquor business and planned a restaurant and more retail. Marigold Liquor has since moved into a new storefront in the remodeled plaza, and in March the center still had room for one or two more tenants.
The same caveat applies here. As of the last week of September, none of the coverage confirms an opening day, and none reports a delay. October remains a target month announced in March.
A few blocks south, Maj-R Thrift opened in July at 6220 Nieman Road, in a former Family Dollar space. One storefront at a time, Nieman's commercial strip is filling with new businesses.
Midland Drive's Last Closure Comes Before the Finish
On the west side, the end of the project starts with one more closure. The city confirmed this week that the Midland Drive reconstruction is on track for substantial completion by mid-December. The final phase could begin as early as October 5.
Phase 3 fully closes Midland Drive from Ogg Road to the west entrance of Red Oak Drive at Tomahawk Hills Golf Course. Drivers can still use the east entrance. The phase is expected to last four weeks, weather permitting. If work starts on the earliest date, the closure would run into early November.
The timeline has already moved once. In early July, the project was expected to wrap up by the end of November. The current mid-December target replaces that. KSHB's Johnson County reporter has followed the project for almost two years. The businesses along the corridor have lived with it at least that long, and the station said they are hoping for a rebound once the road reopens.
One more west-side change is unrelated to the roadwork. Earl May Garden Centers plans to close its nursery at 21700 Midland Drive on December 7, according to store employees, as reported by the Johnson County Post. Closing sales were underway in September. If you've bought bulbs, mums or a fall tree there, this is the last season for it. Check the closure map before you drive over, since the store sits on the same road being rebuilt.
The Fall Calendar, Lined Up Against the Finish Lines
The city's fall events land on these same weeks. Several sit downtown, around Thai Orchid's target month. Here is the season in order, with each date as the city or organizer lists it:
| Date | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 3, 9 a.m. to noon | Scarecrow Festival, free, with scarecrow-making and pumpkin decorating | City Hall, 11110 Johnson Drive |
| Thu., Oct. 8, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. | Yappy Hour, free for dogs and $10 for people | Shawnee Town 1929, 11501 W. 57th St. |
| Thu., Oct. 15, 4 to 8 p.m. | October Moonlight Market | 11110 Johnson Drive |
| Sat., Oct. 24, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Holiday Treasures Craft Festival, free, 60-plus local makers | Shawnee Civic Centre, 13817 Johnson Drive |
| Fri., Oct. 30, 6 to 8:30 p.m. | Historical Hauntings, with trick-or-treating, tractor hayrides, house tours and a costume contest | Shawnee Town 1929 |
| Nov. 12 and 13, 4 to 8 p.m. | Christkindlmarkt and Moonlight Market | Downtown Shawnee |
| Thu., Nov. 19, 7 to 8:30 p.m. | History on Tap, on the Shawnee Tribe in Kansas | Shawnee Town 1929 |
On the Moonlight Market night, Johnson Drive between Nieman and King closes from 2 to 9 p.m. Plan to park off the main street if you're coming for dinner downtown that evening. Historical Hauntings falls on the Friday before Halloween, so Shawnee Town 1929 runs its trick-or-treat night a day ahead of the neighborhood one.
Smaller Openings Filling In Around the Edges
A few newer businesses have opened outside the three main stories. Danny's Burger Shack is open at 7174 Renner Road in the former Bar West space, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. 7 Brew, at 11560 W. 63rd St., was on the September openings list, with its official debut planned for the week after September 21. In Shawnee Village, Black Friday Outlet soft-opened at 6495 Quivira Road in August, with a grand opening expected in September. No grand-opening date has been reported.
Of everything here, Fresh Market is the one to watch most closely. It is the only opening on this list that brings back something the corner lost in 2008.
Long redevelopment stories like Westbrooke Green and Midland Drive tend to change how a part of town works day to day, sometimes well before the change shows up anywhere else. If you're wondering what a finished Midland or a reopened 75th and Quivira could mean for your own property or plans, Angela Zysk is happy to look at it with you, from both a renovation and a resale angle. Schedule a free consultation.
