Southwest Topeka's Newest Places to Eat Are Close to 17th and Fairlawn. Here's What's Open.

This year's new food in southwest Topeka came from small, local operators fitting into the places around them. A Mediterranean cafe that used to be downtown moved into a former Supercuts at SW 17th and Fairlawn. Three longtime friends opened a wine bar on SW Gage Boulevard in a space they built onto the Custenboarders flower shop. A sourdough baker who started at farmers markets now has a shop in Fairlawn Plaza. All three sit a short drive from each other, and between them they cover lunch, dinner, a glass of wine and tomorrow's sandwich bread.

They don't share a schedule, though. One is open seven days a week until 10 p.m. Another is open four evenings a week for four hours. If you want to try all three this fall, it helps to know which clock each one runs on.

Olive Cafe Came Back After Two Years, Out West

Olive Cafe spent years downtown at 935 S. Kansas Ave. Later that building housed Olive Bodega, which the Topeka Capital-Journal reported closed in November 2025. In June 2026, the Capital-Journal reported that owner Tony Mashaal was bringing the cafe back after a two-year hiatus at 1700 SW Fairlawn Road, with a modern, cafe-style feel.

The building came with a challenge. The new space used to be a Supercuts, and a customer review posted on Olive Cafe's website describes the "transformation from what used to be a Supercuts to a colorful, cozy cafe with murals inside and out." Mashaal brought in his friend, the artist Jon Sloan, to paint an exterior mural in the same Egyptian-inspired style as the art in the old downtown cafe, WIBW reported. Sloan told the station why the location mattered to him: "I do something like this and thousands of people drive by and see it every day. It stands up."

By September, people were having a hard time getting in. This Is Topeka wrote that its writers had been trying to get back since the reopening, and "every time we tried, the place was packed."

The menu sticks to what the downtown cafe was known for:

• Hummus, falafel, baba ghanouj and stuffed grape leaves
• Lentil soup, plus Greek and fattoush salads
• Gyro, shawarma and kebab, served as sandwiches or bowls
• Baklava, with Turkish or Arab coffee to finish

One customer review on the cafe's site points out that the falafel and hummus are gluten-free and that gluten-free pita is available too. The cafe's phone number, 785-220-8060, is on its website, so call ahead for the day's hours before you drive over.

Board and Barrel Brought a Wine List to Gage Boulevard

A few minutes from Olive Cafe, Board and Barrel Wine Bar opened at 1709 SW Gage Blvd. The Capital-Journal described it as a fine-dining wine bar and restaurant founded by friends and now business partners Nathan Mikoleit, Tre'Jor Hopkins and Dalton Burchett. According to the Capital-Journal's photo gallery, the restaurant is attached to Custenboarders, and the owners created the space to go with the flower shop.

It opened slowly. The same gallery shows soft-opening dinners underway by Aug. 13 and says the owners were aiming for a grand opening on Oct. 1. Whatever the ribbon-cutting date ended up being, the restaurant now takes dining-room reservations on Tock. The listing calls it Italian and describes handmade pasta, steaks, seasonal starters and house-made desserts, with a curated wine list, a full range of spirits and a rotating cocktail menu.

Its hours set it apart from the rest of this group. The restaurant's contact page lists it as open seven days a week, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome at the bar, and Tock recommends reservations for the dining room. So you could stop in for a weekday lunch or sit at the bar for one glass late on a Sunday without planning ahead.

H & A Sourdough Bakery Runs on Evening Hours

The third opening keeps the shortest hours, and they're on purpose. Kayla Morrow's H & A Sourdough Bakery, at 2114 SW Chelsea Drive in Fairlawn Plaza Shopping Center, set its first day for Saturday, Oct. 17, from 4 to 8 p.m., KSNT reported. After that, its regular hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 4 to 8 p.m.

Like Olive Cafe, the bakery came from somewhere Topeka already knew it. KSNT reported that Morrow's baking began as a hobby rooted in family traditions, grew into days at farmers markets and pop-up events, and now has its own storefront. She told the station what the shop is built around: "So, we specialize in sandwich-style loaves of sourdough bread. All of our bread is pre-sliced for our customers' convenience."

KSNT reported that every sourdough product starts from flour, water and salt. The case also carries cinnamon rolls, cookies, scones and muffins, and you can buy a pancake mix and a homemade Italian-style seasoning to take home. Since it opens at 4 p.m., you can grab a pre-sliced loaf on the way home from work, which means the bakery is a weeknight errand, not a weekend-morning trip.

How the Three Fit Together

Taken together, the three places keep very different hours. Here's how they line up this fall:

You can fit all three into one Thursday or Friday evening. Pick up bread at H & A before 8, then head to Gage for dinner and a glass of wine. Olive Cafe's packed dining room is easier to plan around at lunch, as long as you call first.

Next Up on Wanamaker: Announced, Not Open Yet

Farther west on Wanamaker Road, two more openings are moving into existing buildings, though neither has opened.

Berries Basket Cafe plans to move into the former Red Lobster at 2011 SW Wanamaker Road. WIBW reported in July that co-owner Dimitri Kass described breakfast, lunch and dinner with Greek dishes, wraps, homemade burgers, crêpes, pasta, steaks, ribs and banana bread, plus a coffee bar and a pet-friendly covered area. At the time, Kass said he hoped to open in about four months. The Capital-Journal's July 29 report also described the opening as still ahead, with no date given.

Dialogue Coffee House plans a seventh location at 3711 B SW Wanamaker Road with extended hours. The Capper Foundation, which runs the shops, said the goal is to open by the end of the year, and that it will share the exact date and hours as construction moves along, WIBW reported in September.

Neither has set an opening day yet. Until one does, the spots near 17th and Fairlawn are where you can eat something new this fall.

If you live in southwest Topeka, I'd love to hear which of these you try first, or any new spot nearby I should know about. I'm Sandra, and I'm always glad to talk about the places that make this part of town feel like home, in English or Spanish. When you're ready for a conversation, Sandra Zepeda is happy to listen. Let's Connect.