BANGOR, Maine — The owners of the Oriental Jade, one of the largest Chinese restaurants in the state, announced Thursday that the restaurant will undergo a $1 million renovation and expansion this fall. But as part of the expansion, it will be doing away with one of its most popular offerings in its 38 years: its buffet.
“We’re adding Asian-inspired pizza, Bao buns and other modern Asian bistro items on our menu,” said Tyson Lo, son of owners Victor and Lilian Lo, who will join in ownership with them this fall. “But to make room for these innovations, we’re going to have to say goodbye to the buffet.”
The expansion will add a showcase kitchen, or an open-style kitchen, which will feature cooking done in front of the diner, as well as a full sushi bar. It also will offer an in-house brewery and beer garden, set to open at some point in the first half of 2017.
Tyson Lo, a 2004 graduate of Bangor High School and 2008 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, has for the past eight years worked on Wall Street and later as a DJ in Miami. In the 12 years that he’s been away from Bangor, he’s eaten at countless restaurants around the country and in Hong Kong and Europe, and he has been inspired by the innovative cuisine he’s tried.
“I grew up in restaurants, I’ve eaten in a lot of great restaurants, and I know that we can do better. We already have great food, but I know we can take it to the next level,” said Lo. “We can do things like ramen bowls and dumplings and dim sum and small plates, and do it really, really well. … In the restaurant industry, it’s all about the experience and what’s new and different. It’s time to do that.”
Victor and Lilian Lo opened the popular eatery near the then-new Bangor Mall in the late 1970s. The buffet was added to the restaurant in the mid-1990s and has been a lunchtime staple for the mall area ever since.
“The buffet has been popular, but we need to make room for new things. … With the showcase kitchen, we’ll have a whole new thing for people to enjoy. … There’s still time to enjoy the crab rangoons, wings, egg rolls and Lo Mein. We’re planning a ‘farewell buffet festival’ by adding special items right up until we close our buffet on Sept. 18,” Tyson Lo said.
For the in-house brewery and beer garden, Lo has partnered with local homebrewer Jared Lambert, also of Marsh Island Brewing, to create house beers to be served in the Oriental Jade’s expanded bar and, in the coming year, on a new outdoor patio.
“We’ll be one of the first Asian restaurants to have a brewery in house,” said Lo. “It’s really an extension of our commitment to making something really high quality, right here in Bangor.”
Oriental Jade, located at at 320 Bangor Mall Boulevard in Bangor, will remain open during the renovations, which will begin soon.
