Tucson’s oldest family-owned-and-operated Chinese restaurant Lotus Garden announced plans to close at the end of May after over 50 years in business.
Lotus Garden opened in 1968 with the Wong family. Now, it’s time for current chef and manager Dan Wong to retire.
The space at 5975 E. Speedway Blvd. already has a new tenant lined up. Serial Grillers plans to move their original location at 5737 E. Speedway Blvd. two blocks down the road into the former Lotus Garden.
“Moving will expand our seating [from 88] to 140+ and offer outdoor patio seating,” said Travis Miller, co-owner at Serial Grillers. “Additionally, we will no longer have to share a parking lot and it should be a lot easier to visit as a customer.”
The original Serial Grillers space also won’t go to waste.
“We still have a few years left on our lease for our original location and we plan to open a new barbecue concept as a collaboration business with Red Desert BBQ,” Miller said. “We will come together and create a new business called Boulevard BBQ.”
(Jackie’s note: Serial Smokers could have been a fun name, though not as obviously food related.)
“We will create somewhat of a fusion of the two businesses and try to push the barbecue envelope to be more approachable to the everyday foodie,” Miller said. “The business will still offer your traditional barbecue offerings like Red Desert BBQ does at the moment, but will offer some new twists with barbecue tacos, sandwiches, and nachos.”
Boulevard BBQ is expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2019.
For more information, visit serialgrillersaz.com.
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Article written by:
Jackie Tran
More about JackieJackie Tran is a Tucson-based food writer, photographer, culinary educator, and owner-chef of the now-closed food truck Tran’s Fats. Although he is best known locally for his work for Tucson Foodie, his work has also appeared in publications such as Bon Appétit, National Geographic, and the New York Times.
An adventurous foodie, he enjoys culinary experiences ranging from seasonal omakase to sloppily devouring green chili patty melts in his car afterhours. His favorite foods include aguachile, garlic noodles, and leftover fried chicken illuminated by the fridge light. His favorite drinks include morning micheladas, fireside imperial stouts, candle-lit negroni, and grassy mezcales.
Outside of food, he also loves playing musical instruments, karaoke, Tetris, Super Smash Bros. Melee, and petting Addie’s dog Spaghetti.
If you’d like to stalk him, visit his Instagram @jackie_tran_ or jackietran.com.
