A new restaurant is opening at East Hills Shopping Center’s new food court, and another restaurant is relocating to the food court.
For the last 20 years, Taco John’s has been interspersed among mall retailers. On Wednesday, the Mexican fast-food restaurant chain moved to the Sunporch Cafe. It will be joined by GB Asian, a Chinese fast-food restaurant, which is expected to open in mid-October.
Sunporch Cafe can fit three other restaurant tenants before it reaches capacity. It currently has a pizza shop and a Japanese grill.
Mall general manager Ashley Albers said she would like to see the addition of a “burger joint” to complement the current food choices. The seating area at the Sunporch Cafe has two flat-screen televisions, a fireplace and leather couches.
Taco John’s manager Tammy Quinn said construction workers have kept business steady during the long renovation, in which mall foot traffic slackened. She said Taco John’s caters to shoppers, mall employees and speed walkers looking for a quick bite.
“People don’t usually go to the mall to eat,” Ms. Quinn said. There are three other Taco John’s in St. Joseph.
GB Asian opens later this month next to Tokyo-San Japanese Grill & Sushi. Both restaurants are owned by business partners Yuwei Tang and Truman Yeh, who met while working as managers for Panda Express in Kansas City.
The owners don’t expect the two Asian restaurants to compete against one another. Mr. Tang said GB Asian serves more wok-fried foods like General Tso’s Chicken, while Tokyo-San serves dishes like grilled chicken and sushi.
A two-item tray at Tokyo-San is $6.29 and at GB Asian it’s $5.60, Mr. Tang said. Both restaurants also do outside catering and delivery.
Ahmad Safi can be reached at ahmadsafi@npgco.com.
Bring back Big Al's! :)
I'm for Burger Haus.
HOW ABOUT A STEAK & SHAKE??
HOW BOUT THE ALWAYS DELICIOUS MIKKY DEEZ ,,