Asian Buffet opens at mall
CENTER TWP — Shoppers have a new place to dine at the Clearview Mall.
The Asian Buffet, which serves Chinese, Japanese and American style food, opened May 1 next to Sears.
Owners Lisa and Simon Zheng relocated their Great Wall restaurant from Main Street in Butler to the mall.
While it's a new site and name, former patrons of the Great Wall will be able to find their past favorites.
“It's the same menu,” Lisa Zheng said.
The couple had owned the Great Wall for 12 years.
The biggest difference with the new restaurant is its size. The Asian Buffet is more than 7,000 square feet, much larger than the 1,400-square-foot space they had on Main Street.
Beyond the size, Zheng said she is happy about the look of the new restaurant, which features a large painting on its wall and Asian decorations.
“I like it. It's nicer,” she said.
But while the new buffet is an upgrade on their past restaurant, the move still has been a little difficult for the Zhengs, who liked the Main Street atmosphere.
“I like Butler,” she said. “Butler has a lot of good people. It's a small city, but I like its downtown.”
Zheng said the restaurant maintained many of its regular customers, but she fears some are unaware they moved.
“We've heard some customers are asking about us,” she said.
She said one challenges with the move is separating themselves from the previous Asian style restaurants that have been at the site.
She said some of those past owners didn't have a great reputation, but that's not the case with her restaurant.
“We serve very good food,” she said confidently. “We have our own recipes.”
Zheng said she wants to see the restaurant flourish at its new location.
“I'm very passionate,” she said. “I try hard. I want to do the best I can.”
She also thanked her customers who have helped support the move.“I like to see customers happy. If they are happy then I am happy, too,” she said.The restaurant is open 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
