I have some good restaurant news — Lucky Samurai will be starting up at the old Sake Express location on North New Hope Road in Gastonia, next to Payless and near Westfield Eastridge mall.
Manager Chris Ballard tells me the restaurant plans to open before the end of May, hopefully on May 19.
As you could probably guess from the name, it’s going to be a Japanese restaurant.
Ballard and his wife, Truc Pham, who’s the owner, liked Gastonia’s atmosphere and people. He’s been impressed by the quality of those seeking jobs. Ballard said he plans to have all staffing decisions made by next week.
“We are going to have some things that other Japanese restaurants don’t have,” Ballard said.
The restaurant will have cream cheese rolls as an appetizer. Those might sound familiar — think rangoons or wontons — but Ballard said the taste of these will be different from all the rest.
Ballard hasn’t faced many challenges fixing up the older restaurant, but he said customers will notice the changes with a remodeled interior.
Ballard and Pham have been in the restaurant business for a long time. They used to own House of Asia in Forest City. He’s been working with Japanese restaurants for 10 years.
Customers might mistake Lucky Samurai for Sake at first, but they’ll notice the changes that make this restaurant stand on its own, Ballard said.
“We’re really going to focus on how we can give good food with good service,” Ballard said.