CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - Interior demolition has begun at the former China Buffet restaurant at 5623 Sunrise Boulevard by owner Jay Wong who will open his new Asian fusion-themed as Hibachi Buffet this summer.

Wong, originally from Orlando Florida, recently signed a long-term lease to open his restaurant, said Phillip Jarrett, owner/broker of Jarrett Real Estate in Eldorado Hills, in an earlier telephone interview.

“It’s our very first restaurant in California,” Wong said. He said he expects to hire at least 30 kitchen and customer service personnel for his new restaurant which is now receiving a thorough refresh inside.

The general menu hasn’t been finalized yet, Wong said, but will feature a variety of sushi, hibachi grill and seafood dishes. Customers will be able to watch their dishes being prepared in front of them.

Further details about business hours and the general menu will be posted on social media as the restaurant nears its opening date, Wong said.

The free-standing former 10,600-plus square-foot restaurant built in 1986, is situated on 1.7 acres and includes two outdoor seating areas. Shuttered for over three years, the general physical condition of the former China Buffet and its outside parking area had deteriorated in recent years.

Inside the freshly painted restaurant, which has a wide-open floor plan, construction crew members were installing new booth partitions and grouting floor tile. The front lobby, kitchen and restrooms were still being built out.

“We’re excited to bring Hibachi Buffet to the city of Citrus Heights,” Wong said. “Once renovations are fully complete, inside and out, our guests who discover our new restaurant will find it a very special place they will want to come back to.”

The new Hibachi Buffet, once open, adds to a reviving restaurant row in Sunrise MarketPlace where nearby Boston’s Pizza and El Tapatio now thrive.

The restaurant site was listed for sale or lease for $4.1 million at a cost of $1.99 per square foot under a ground lease option as “ideal for restaurant, medical, brew pub/sports bar, retail, residential or other suggested uses.”

A former Marie Callender’s Restaurant and Bakery, which is located next door at 5525 Sunrise Boulevard still remains on the market. The restaurant abruptly closed in August 2019 when the parent company entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to dwindling profits.