Fresh off a strong showing on the Food Network’s Chopped, Chef Ryan Andre has announced he and Chase Lyons—whom he previously worked with while the two were at City Pork—will open a new Asian restaurant in Mid City.
Soji will be at 5050 Government St., near the intersection of South Foster Drive, in a building that was formerly home to a Rotolo’s Pizzeria. A group of local investors purchased the building for $675,000 last June and has spent the past few months renovating it for Soji, which is expected to open early this summer.
Lyons will be the proprietor of the restaurant, which will seat about 100 and will include a patio bar, while Andre will be executive chef and partner.
|
|
|
Menu details are still being worked out, but Lyons tells Daily Report he and Andre do not want to put their cuisine in a “box” and are shying away from identifying with any single Asian cuisine. Instead, Soji will serve several taste profiles from across Asia, he says, adding the menu will not be a fusion of cultures.
|
|
|
“We don’t really want to create a new cuisine,” Lyons says, adding the duo is considering lunch, dinner and late-night service, but has not finalized plans. “We would like our customers to get a taste of the whole continent of Asia at our restaurant and not have to leave Government Street.”
Read the full story from Daily Report.