After the fire we were continually told it would reopen. What is the true story? Will it ever open?
When will Hunan Lion restaurant on Bethel Road open? It closed over a year ago due to a fire and was supposed to open months ago.
Readers Susan Schultz and Ann Shay both sent recent What’s Up With That? queries about the fate of Hunan Lion, a popular Chinese restaurant just off Bethel Road on the Northwest Side.
The restaurant was damaged and shuttered following a 2023 fire, but a reopening was long-promised. The question remained though: When would that reopening happen?
It’s a question restaurant reporter Bob Vitale has been hounding for months as well, so of course, as is the way, the definitive answer came while he was away from work.
Yes, Hunan Lion intends to reopen. Here’s what we know.
Hunan Lion plans early August reopening
In early June, Hunan Lion broke the news on its Facebook page: “We’re absolutely thrilled to share some great news — our reopening is just around the corner and we’re on track to open in early August.”
Dispatch reporter Sarah Sollinger later caught up with Steven Chang, the restaurant’s general manager, who shared a bit more detail.
While Hunan Lion originally hoped to reopen just a few months after the October 2023 fire, Chang said inspections, permits, and repairs kept delaying the timetable.
A firm opening date has not yet been set — you never know what might happen with final inspections — but Chang said “the hardest part is pretty much over.”
Hunan Lion’s holiday history
The Chinese restaurant, located at 2038 Crown Plaza Dr. just off Bethel, has been a holiday dining institution in Columbus for more than 35 years.
Steven Chang’s parents, Allyson and Jason Chang, opened Hunan Lion in 1987.
People would call to make their Christmas reservations as early as September, Steven Chang told dining reporter Vitale in 2023.
While the restaurant was closed, the Changs received regular messages from fans who had gone there not only for holidays but also for major family events: graduation, baptism and scores of other get-togethers of family and friends.
In December 2023, Chang assured those fans the restaurant would return.
“We’ll definitely be back,” he said. “I’m missing our food, too.”
Want to know what’s up with that? Email us
Do you have a question you want answered? Email me at ekennedy@dispatch.com, or you can send your questions to newsroom@dispatch.com, ideally with “What Up With That?” in the subject line.
Thank you to the many of you who have already submitted questions; we’re hard at work getting answers to them, and we look forward to hearing from more of you!
Dispatch Digital Director Eleanor Kennedy can be reached at ekennedy@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: What’s Up With That: When will Hunan Lion return?
Reporting by Eleanor Kennedy, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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