I’ve blogged about the Taiwanese dumplings restaurant chain Din Tai Fung in the past, and just saw this article posted on Facebook from a friend – Din Tai Fung is coming to Seattle. The restaurant will open in a suburb called Bellevue, Washington (which coincidentally happens to be the headquarters of HTC America). Here are some more details:
[T]he opening date is slated for early fall, when a 7000-square-foot, 220-seat den of dumplingfied deliciousness will be unveiled on the second-level at Lincoln Square, next to the skybridge connecting to Bellevue Place.”
Now I know quite a few people think that Din Tai Fung is overrated (but read the Yelp reviews!) but I don’t care! As I have mentioned before, I’ve been to a Din Tai Fung in Taipei, Shanghai and Beijing, as well as in Arcadia, California. In fact, I took some colleagues there back this January when we were in Southern California for a trade show and they loved it!
I am annoyed that Seattle is getting a Din Tai Fung instead of San Francisco Bay. I have literally emailed Din Tai Fung’s U.S. site every six to twelve months asking them to open a restaurant up in the Bay Area. That place would clean up big time. I mean, Cupertino is sort of like the Little Taipei of Northern California – Din Tai Fung in Cupertino Village would be a natural fit.
I don’t know what franchisee David Wasielewski (who was born-and-raised in Taiwan until middle school) did to convince Din Tai Fung to give him a franchise since he’s never owned and operated a restaurant before in his life. I need to contact some hotel and restaurant friends of mine, since I think opening one up in the Bay Area is a no-brainer and would be a goldmine!
