Yummy House is back. Almost.
After nearly a year of frustrating delays, the popular Chinese restaurant plans to open for dinner on Sept. 30 at its new location, 2510 SW 27th Ave., across from the Best Buy
shopping center.
“We are ready to go,” said John Zhao, who heads the Yummy House group. “We are just waiting on final approval from the state health department.”
The restaurant's phone number is (352) 237-6788, but Zhao apologizes that customers are having trouble getting through. He is in the process of updating the website, yummyhouseflorida.com, with the new information, including the menu.
"Customers will find everything familiar,” Zhao said. “The menu is 95 percent the same, and many of the staff members from the old location will be there to greet them.” Zhao kept the Ocala staff employed during the transition by having them open a noodle house in Gainesville.
“Ocala people are warm and friendly. This is a great market for us,” he said.
He was aware of the concerns expressed by Ocala residents during the transition period. They worried that the new location will be too small, that there won’t be enough parking, and that Yummy House would abandon Ocala.
“I loved all of that!” Zhao said. “Our customers are invested in our success. They don’t want us to go away. How often do you hear customers care about whether a restaurant succeeds or fails? We deeply appreciate their loyalty, and we are loyal to them in return.”
He said the old restaurant in the PetSmart shopping center on State Road 200 had 160 seats, and the new place has 120. “We were rarely full in the old location, and the 120 seats should be plenty on most days.”
As for parking, Zhao said the new location shares a parking lot with Captain D’s seafood restaurant. “They do most of their business at lunch and Yummy House customers normally come for dinner, so parking should be no problem.” He said there is additional parking in the back, if necessary.
And for abandoning Ocala? Zhao laughed. “Never gave it a thought,” he said. “I would never leave Ocala.”
Zhao said he decided to close the old location because the mall owner raised his rent “big time.” But even before that he was thinking of moving. “The mall was getting old and in need of repair, and I like new construction.”
Why did Zhao choose the new restaurant location? “Where’s the new Yummy House? It’s on 27, right across the street from Best Buy. Nobody needs directions. Everybody in Ocala knows exactly where it is,” he said.
Zhao wanted Ocala residents to know that two Yummy House properties are recommended in the Michelin Guide. “We are very proud to be recognized for our quality by this prestigious organization,” he said.
Michelin recommends the original Yummy House in Tampa, with a menu similar to its sister restaurants in Ocala, Gainesville and Sarasota.
“While the kitchen offers an extensive full menu…the inspectors give special praise to the comprehensive dim sum selection,” the Michelin Guide says (dim sum, small-plate appetizers meant to be shared, is served weekends at lunchtime in Ocala and lunchtime every day in Gainesville).
The second Michelin Guide recommendation is the upscale YH Seafood Clubhouse in Orlando. Menu items are in English and Chinese, and the restaurant targets the 280,000 tourists from China who visit Florida each year, with Disney World a popular destination.
Zhao, a native of Belize, got his first job working in a restaurant at 14. He came to the United States at 22 and opened the first Yummy House in Tampa in 2008. Then Yummy House in Sarasota, Gainesville in 2013 and Ocala in 2014. YH Seafood Clubhouse opened in 2022.
"We love Ocala,” Zhao said. “I always tell people that if I ever retire and start to close my restaurants, Ocala will be the last one.”
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: This popular Ocala restaurant is finally ready to reopen. Details here.
