New Chinese restaurant to open soon

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New Richmond residents soon will have a new option for Chinese food.

China House, located at 250 Paperjack Drive, will offer Szechuan, Mandarin, and Hunan cuisine.

Mark Merrick, owner of China House, has been operating the Panda King restaurant in St. Croix Falls for the past seven years.

“My wife is from Thailand and their family has been in the restaurant business for 25 years,” Merrick said in a phone interview from his home in Dresser.

In fact, the head chef at the New Richmond location is Merrick’s brother-in-law.

“He was the only one in the family who did not have his own restaurant,” Merrick explained. “He really likes the New Richmond area so he is relocating from St. Croix Falls.”

Merrick said they are hoping to open mid-to-late August. They are currently remodeling the interior of the former Wildflowers store to accommodate the ventilation equipment required for a restaurant.

“Chinese food produces a lot of vapors,” Merrick said.

Don’t expect to see a delivery number or buffet line at this new restaurant.

“All the food will be prepared as ordered, it will not be pre-cooked,” Merrick stressed. “But our service is very fast.”

As the opening date approaches, they will send their menu out in bulk mail. They will also be hiring cashiers and wait staff.

Hours of operation will be Sunday-Thursday 11 a.m.-9 p.m. and Friday-Saturday 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

“In our St. Croix location we have winter hours where we open one hour earlier,” Merrick said.

“We’ll see if the business dictates that in New Richmond.”

Tags: business, china, house