Some new businesses are in the works around Lawrence, including a donut shop on Wakarusa, a taco chain coming to town and a pop-up vendor set to appear this weekend and next.
Tasty Donut Palace is planning to open soon at 1540 Wakarusa Drive.
Owner Sokun Phy said he and his wife, Kalyan Ngoun, moved to Lawrence from Texas about six weeks ago and have been working in the donut business for 10 years.
Outside of donuts, there will be fried cinnamon rolls and homemade whipped cream.
Phy said the opening date is not yet set, though the couple hopes to open by the end of the month as work on the shop continues.
Planned hours are 4 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sundays. The business has a Facebook page, Tasty Donut Palace Lawrence Ks.
Don’t miss a beat … Click here to sign up for our email newsletters
Click here to learn more about our newsletters first
Another development worth watching is Tiki Taco, planned to open at 602 W. Ninth St.
The Kansas City Mexican restaurant owned by Lyndon and Lindsey Wade has seven other locations in the metro.
The menu includes tacos, burritos, quesadillas and margaritas, and the chain’s website highlights its “Force 4 Good” initiative, which directs a portion of sales to charitable causes. The owners could not be reached for comment prior to publication.
The location was previously home to 9th Street Mexican Tacos, which closed in February amid construction and a complete road closure on Ninth Street.
Love of Character, a paper goods and party supply shop, is scheduled to hold sorority pop-up events at 935 Massachusetts St. over the next two weekends.
Love of Character’s owners closed the Mass Street store in October. However, the flagship store remains alive and well in Wichita.
The pop-up will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 22 and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 23. Hours for Aug. 26 through 30 were not yet available as of publication time. The store will have several KU sorority-branded items like apparel, jewelry, stationary and pennants.
Molcajete’s, 941 Massachusetts St, appears to have closed.
A sign on the door said the business is closed, and attempts to reach the owners were unsuccessful.
If local news matters to you, please help us keep doing this work.
Don’t miss a beat — get the latest news from the Times delivered to your inbox:
Click here to learn more about our newsletters first
Courtney Lane (she/her), staff reporter, has worked with The Lawrence Times since April 2026. She can be reached at [email protected].
Read her complete bio here. Read her work for the Times at this link, and see her photography for the Times at this link.
Latest Lawrence news:
Jacob Rice / Lawrence Times
