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A little later than promised, super popular Chinese restaurant Dough Zone opened quietly in Redmond before the holidays. Located near Redmond Town Center (7625 170th Ave NE), it's the third location for the mini-chain, which also has locations in Bellevue near Crossroads (15920 NE 8th St #3) and in the Overlake neighborhood (14625 NE 24th St).
Fans began raving about the new location on its Place page on Facebook on December 19, which seems to have been the first day of business. The restaurant seats about 36 and its menu remains true to the other outposts, with coveted items like xiao long bao, jian buns, potstickers, green onion pancakes, and handmade noodles.
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[Photo: Greg Ehrlich]
Will a Seattle location be next? No — but it's not out of the question. An employee explained that in order to expand to Seattle, the business has to create a new central kitchen first.
This is similar to the In-N-Out Burger model, which holds that every restaurant has to be within 600 miles of a distribution center, thus slowing the company's growth into new markets. Dough Zone's central kitchen in Bellevue serves the three existing locations, and can accommodate up to five, but apparently not in Seattle.
So, what will the other restaurants be? Next up is a ramen shop in Issaquah. Eater learned that it should open in April, though the location has yet to be shared. Stay tuned for more details as they emerge.
7625 170th Ave NE, (425) 702-8888, Facebook. Open daily 11 a.m. 3:30 p.m. and 4 to 9 p.m.
