Taste of China may reopen in south Lincoln
Is Taste of China, one of the restaurants pushed out of downtown last year by the proposed high-rise project, being resurrected in south Lincoln?
A building permit filed Tuesday suggests it is. But owner Chan Hua says that hasn’t been decided yet.
The $150,000 building permit listed plans for interior finish, including a commercial kitchen and dining area, for a “new Chinese restaurant (Taste of China)” at 5633 S. 16th St.
That’s in a brand new strip mall owned by Kensington Corp., and is just east of the northeast corner of 14th and Old Cheney and to the west of Culver’s.
Dave Olson of Kensington Corp. said Hua has signed a letter of intent to buy about 2,300 square feet of space in the middle of the 12,000-square-foot building.
“Chan Hua found us on (a real-estate Web site) and called us out of the blue,” Olson said.
He said he knew Hua had plans in the works for the space but didn’t know if they were finalized yet.
Hua declined to comment on his plans other than to say it has not been decided yet whether the space will be a restaurant.
Hua battled with the city for more than a year to try to keep his Taste of China restaurant open at 14th and Q streets downtown, where he had operated for 15 years.
The restaurant was on a site where the city wanted to develop a high-rise project. Other property owners quickly sold out, leaving Hua as the only holdout.
He finally relented in January 2007 when Monte Froehlich, the developer who eventually won the bid for the project, stepped in and offered $300,000 on top of the city’s offer of $430,000.
Taste of China closed last April and the building was demolished shortly thereafter. At the time, Hua told the Journal Star he hoped to find a new location and reopen by early this year.
If he does reopen at 16th and Old Cheney, Hua would be the first tenant in the new strip mall.
Marc Snow of NAI/FMA Realty said he’s talked to a few other potential tenants and has a couple “that are real close” to signing a lease.
The strip mall is set up for six separate spaces and Snow says if it fills up reasonably fast plans are to build another similar building to the north.
Reach Matt Olberding at 473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com.
A building permit filed Tuesday suggests it is. But owner Chan Hua says that hasn’t been decided yet.
The $150,000 building permit listed plans for interior finish, including a commercial kitchen and dining area, for a “new Chinese restaurant (Taste of China)” at 5633 S. 16th St.
That’s in a brand new strip mall owned by Kensington Corp., and is just east of the northeast corner of 14th and Old Cheney and to the west of Culver’s.
Dave Olson of Kensington Corp. said Hua has signed a letter of intent to buy about 2,300 square feet of space in the middle of the 12,000-square-foot building.
“Chan Hua found us on (a real-estate Web site) and called us out of the blue,” Olson said.
He said he knew Hua had plans in the works for the space but didn’t know if they were finalized yet.
Hua declined to comment on his plans other than to say it has not been decided yet whether the space will be a restaurant.
Hua battled with the city for more than a year to try to keep his Taste of China restaurant open at 14th and Q streets downtown, where he had operated for 15 years.
The restaurant was on a site where the city wanted to develop a high-rise project. Other property owners quickly sold out, leaving Hua as the only holdout.
He finally relented in January 2007 when Monte Froehlich, the developer who eventually won the bid for the project, stepped in and offered $300,000 on top of the city’s offer of $430,000.
Taste of China closed last April and the building was demolished shortly thereafter. At the time, Hua told the Journal Star he hoped to find a new location and reopen by early this year.
If he does reopen at 16th and Old Cheney, Hua would be the first tenant in the new strip mall.
Marc Snow of NAI/FMA Realty said he’s talked to a few other potential tenants and has a couple “that are real close” to signing a lease.
The strip mall is set up for six separate spaces and Snow says if it fills up reasonably fast plans are to build another similar building to the north.
Reach Matt Olberding at 473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com.
Copyright © 2002-2008 Lincoln Journal Star. All rights reserved.