Popular Pinhook Road Chinese restaurant Formosa Gardens hopes to open its new location by mid-January.
Formosa Gardens, which has been operating at 3227 Pinhook Road since 2007, is opening what will initially be a second location in old Burger King at 3902 Johnston St.
Hu and Alaina Fu, the couple who own the Chinese restaurant, plan to eventually sell the Pinhook location, but will keep it operating until it's sold, says Van Eaton & Romero Realtor Diana Hebert, who represents the Fus.
Several months ago, the Fus purchased the former BK spot for $475,000 from Burger King corporate, according to Hebert, who notes that it appraised at $630,000 "as is." They'll put another $200,000 to $250,000 into improvements and hope to open by mid-January.
The Pinhook restaurant offers a buffet and has just added sushi to its menu. The concept will follow the Fus the Johnston Street, according to Hebert. "She's got a high volume delivery and pickup business [on Pinhhook]," Hebert says.
The Fus relocated to Lafayette about 10 years ago from Mississippi, believing their restaurant concept would do well in Lafayette's strong economy, Hebert says. Initially, they opened Grand China at 1809 Pinhook Road but now lease the property to Golden Wok.
The family has been in the restaurant business about 25 years - their three sons and Hu doing most of the cooking and Alaina handling the front of the house, according to Hebert, who has developed a close professional relationship with the family in the past decade. "I have been selling them [residential and commercial] property since they moved to Lafayette," she says.