The owners of Taste of China are bringing two huge new restaurant / buffet / bar operations to the north side, to be called Fuze. Each will be slightly more than 14,000 square feet.

Both were approved for liquor licenses and are already well under construction. The goal is to be open this fall.

The food will be buffet style and of every type imaginable: Korean, Chinese, Mongolian, Italian, Mexican, Japanese and American.

Each will have a large bar and feature a modern, higher-end design by TAP Architecture.

Lots of money invested here; the old shopping center on NW Expressway (to be completely remodeled) alone was $1.8 million and the land near Penn & Memorial was almost half a million. Looks like very ambitious plans:



http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/fuzenw4.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/fuzenw5.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/fuzenw1.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/fuzenw2.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/fuzenw6.jpg




http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/fuzepenn7.jpg



http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/fuzepenn2.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/fuzepenn3.jpg


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/fuzepenn1.jpg

Strange choice for the Quail location, with no Penn frontage, but I guess it works for them...

Hmmm the nw expressway location is where the Olive Garden use to be then was remodeled into that strip mall after OG moved to bell isle. That's towards a lot of call centers so a buffet should get some traffic. However there is a large one just west that was remodeled several years back and gets lots of business.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I'm glad to see a restaurant, any restaurant, going back in. There was quite the gap there after said move.

Clearly they are placing their knight and bishop in capturing distance of China King and Hunan Wok.

and Ghengis Grill.

I'm glad to see a restaurant, any restaurant, going back in. There was quite the gap there after said move.

Clearly they are placing their knight and bishop in capturing distance of China King and Hunan Wok.

Hunan Wok is the remode I was speaking of.. couldn't remember the name since I don't work out that way any longer. I know another buffet opened about the time hunan Wok remodeled in hopes of giving them good competition. that location is now a catfish place instead of chinese.. if its still open at all.

What kind of food are they serving? Its more than Chinese isn't it since its called Fuze?

Learned more about these two restaurants...

Both were approved for liquor licenses and are already well under construction. The goal is to be open this fall.

The food will be every type imaginable: Korean, Chinese, Mongolian, Italian, Mexican, Japanese and American.

Each will have a large bar and feature a modern, higher-end design.

I am not a huge buffet person. but the variety should make it go over well .. especially for folks grabbing a quick lunch.

Learned more about these two restaurants...

Both were approved for liquor licenses and are already well under construction. The goal is to be open this fall.

The food will be every type imaginable: Korean, Chinese, Mongolian, Italian, Mexican, Japanese and American.

Each will have a large bar and feature a modern, higher-end design.

That's cool if its nicer than Golden Corral.

TAP is doing the design, so it will be nicely done.

Do you imagine this will cause them to abandon "Taste of China"?

Do you imagine this will cause them to abandon "Taste of China"?

No, they used to operate 4 or 5 locations simultaneously that ToC packs 'em in.

I'm sure the new restaurants are to be nicer, bigger and broader version.

Taste of Asia might be more appropriate (vs Taste of China) since the menu will be a broad array of Eurasia.

I like tho, wish we had more buffets here in Seattle area.

Any new news on this? Im pretty excited for this concept because it reminds of the epic vegas buffets my family always went to growing up. :)

Both locations are well along and should be opening soon; the one on NW Expressway likely first.

Do they have a facebook or website yet?

Drove by the Penn location today. I would say around two months before opening. Not completely walled up yet.

Pictures?

This is from Plutonic Panda of the location near Quail Springs:

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3870/15055611709_d37fbd4b0c_b.jpg

10/14/2014

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5608/14918044463_f59d7b4832_b.jpg

11/15/2014

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7501/15178579063_812798b57b_b.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7531/15612612468_af9f0416db_b.jpg

Couldn't take a photo, but the sign is officially up on the NW Expressway location. It's red lettering, not sure if it lights up.

12/16/2014

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8574/15851284097_34772cdbf4_b.jpg

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8638/15849775610_e1aac00fa3_b.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7467/15849774820_8889803a44_b.jpg

Couldn't take a photo, but the sign is officially up on the NW Expressway location. It's red lettering, not sure if it lights up.
The sign and lettering do light up. I saw it last night.

Quail Springs location.

12/27/2014

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8676/15936884067_b0359c7ca6_b.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7508/15936883457_0103bfb430_b.jpg

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8583/16096833086_f9e6feacd1_b.jpg

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8592/15500307704_3d6ef70900_b.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7525/15936562189_c54c228322_b.jpg

Kitchen

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8578/15500306574_1295a0df17_b.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7563/16121900632_fb5be8213a_b.jpg

Any ideas on a opening date?

Looks like they are still a a few months out at the QS location.

The one on NW Expressway is further along:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/fuze020215.jpg

Thanks to PluPan for the photo. This is the location near Quail Springs:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/fuze033115.jpg

I know someone who is heavily involved on the project. And they say the whole thing is being funded in cash from the other restaurants. So I taste of China nets $36,000 this month. They hire 36k worth of construction. So I would expect a leisurely build....now that I've unpfficially said it: this is of course, rumor.

Did the Northwest Expressway location ever open?

Well I went by the NW expressway location yesterday as I had to do a corporate visit and go into the office.
they have covered that entire side of the building with BRIGHT writing that says " VEGAS STYLE BUFFET!.. BELIEVE IT" and lists all sorts of food.. and there is a huge multicolor fountain dancing out front changing colors. Its a bit of a spectacle. it appears they should be open soon.

1058710588
I snapped a few pics last night.. looks like they are close to opening and you can see the addition of signage on the sides and the color changing dancing waters in front.

Wow, that signage is, well, something else.

Thanks for the photos.

I agree.. seeing the FUZE sign I would have never expected them to add all of that other signage.. was a surprise

Wow, they somehow made Golden Corral look classy when they put up those signs. Outskirts of Las Vegas maybe.... or between the strip and downtown Vegas.

I like it. Not everything has to be boring and bland.

Another vote for "omg my eyes" on the VEGAS STYLE! signage.
Hopefully the food won't be as bad :tongue:

Hate the signage, love the water fountain!

Interesting signage to say the least. I wonder if they will be able to make decent food out of all those varieties they are advertising. I will have to check them out when they open and report back. That site has been many things. I remember Olive Garden being there, then they moved down by Penn Square Mall. Then it became a tanning salon. Now it is Fuze. Best of luck to them as there is a ton of competition on NW Expressway. Agree about the fountains, they are pretty cool.

Wow, they somehow made Golden Corral look classy when they put up those signs. Outskirts of Las Vegas maybe.... or between the strip and downtown Vegas.

LOL this. I think it would have looked better if they chose a different color palette besides red and green Christmas colors. While they are opposite on the color wheel, they aren't good branding colors other than Christmas stuff. Say they made the same sign in black and white paint, or something that complimented the building colors, it would have looked a little more classy, but hey, it's a buffet.....

There's a banner posted in the front saying it's now hiring w/ a guaranteed wage of $10/hr+overtime. If anyone's interested (or knows anyone that needs a job), good luck :)

I happened upon the yelp for the NW Espressway Fuze today and someone posted a review from today so are they open? From the persons review it seems extremely similar to Taste of China which is also owned by the same people. I initially understood this to be a slightly more upscale version of a buffet but even the pricing seems exactly the same. Which im fine with because I happen to love Taste of China (huge selection and pretty tasty) so if its just a bigger taste of china Im good with that. LoL Has anyone went yet?

I went last weekend.

There is a HUGE selection of food. About an equal selection of dessert. They have steaks, hamburgers, chinese, italian, sushi, mexican, and basically a ghengis grill. The food was good, except the sushi. My buddy said that the steak was cooked really well too.

Dinner and weekends is $14 and lunch during the week is $9.

The interior was nicely done as well. They also had a pretty nice bar.

I should have taken some pictures.

When is the Penn location supposed to open?

I was by the Penn location a couple of weeks ago and they still had a ways to go.

As Ian posted, they are using cash generated from their restaurants to fund the construction which is why it's taking some time.

This was taken on 5/24 and it doesn't look much different than two months prior:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/fuze052415.jpg

Heck yeah.

I went to Fuze for the first time this past weekend. I wouldn't call anything spectacular, but EVERYTHING is at least above average or good. Really the best buffet in the city & I can't imagine anywhere else even coming close. It might be my favorite restaurant overall. They have such a wide variety of selections that anybody will be pleased.

we were in the area last week and thought we would eat there Thursday night.. the parking lot was Jam packed so we skipped it. Just wasn't in the mood for that type of experience. I look forward to trying it another time.

we were in the area last week and thought we would eat there Thursday night.. the parking lot was Jam packed so we skipped it. Just wasn't in the mood for that type of experience. I look forward to trying it another time.

There is PLENTY of room inside. Remember this was a strip center with 3 stores before the renovation. Also, there are no lines and so many food options that it never feels packed. I had to fight for a parking spot but it was totally worth it and never felt packed inside.

There is PLENTY of room inside. Remember this was a strip center with 3 stores before the renovation. Also, there are no lines and so many food options that it never feels packed. I had to fight for a parking spot but it was totally worth it and never felt packed inside.

Good to know.. the hectic parking made me change my mind.. wasn't in the mood for a packed buffet

Yeah, there are hundreds of food options & its situated so you can get to anything without being in a "line" so there is really no congestion at all. Plenty of space between most of the tables as well. I went right after Church which has got to be the busiest dining time during the week & everything went smoothly.

Ok.. So a buddy wanted to try Fuze last night so we went. The parking lot was packed but going off the suggestion that the interior was big and even with packed parking it wasn't bad indoors I went ahead and parked. It was cram packed! the table seating that runs from the front doors back towards the east was elbow to elbow. people had to wait for people to pass before they could head the following direction. the chairs and tables were packed in so tight that servers could only pass on the ends as every chair was touching the back of the chair of the next table a total nightmare! they sat us at a table towards the east of that madness and she pointed us toward the beginning of the buffet. it was so congested that the whole buffet area ( and there is buffet on both sides so creates a alley ) was packed and hard to pass through to find what you wanted and kids were running around everywhere.
That all being said. the thing I did like is they don't have tons of food sitting out. each item has 3 to 4 servings on the buffet in little skillets so its refreshed often so you know the food hasn't been sitting there for hours. The salad bar was great I wish there was a place in OKC that just had that salad bar setup ( we really need a sweet tomato's) and I would hit it regularly. the steak was pretty good quality and cooked medium rare and tasty.( people were standing in line waiting for new steak to be put down so created more congestion in that area ). I didn't care for the sushi and many of the Mexican food items I found dry or not that good. Most the Chinese I tried was good. They do basically have a ghengis grill along with the buffet but didn't try that as I was just sampling this and that and mostly ate salad. If you like buffets its easily the best one in OKC I'd say but I am probably not the target demographic. If it had been less crowded and noisy it probably would have helped the experience but it is a buffet after all. they had a huge selection of sweets and fruits I tried a little of the salted caramel Gelato which was good an some cheesecake which was still a bit frozen ( probably due to mass amounts of people through and not having time to defrost ).

THe most annoying thing was the Asian gentleman at the table next to us ( within 2 feet of us basically ) who sad all through our dinner playing a game on his phone with the volume on high. I get its vegas style buffet but I don't need the bells and whistles of a gaming floor.

dinner for two was 33.00 bucks so if you dig buffets you will probably love it. its kind of out of my Bubble anyways so don't know that I will drop in again anytime soon.

Are they leasing the NW Expressway location? That would explain why they spent more time and effort getting that location ready first. They would be losing a lot more money if they weren't producing any income.

If they paid for everything with cash for the building on Penn, there probably not losing as much.

My wife and I love this place. It's all about timing. The last time we went in there was hardly anybody. Weekdays between 3 and 4 really. Selection is great, food is good quality, and there's something for everyone.

Went last night and I must say. It is a large selection of food. I enjoyed it especially the mongolian grill.

Drove by yesterday and the Penn & Memorial location still has a ways to go before finishing.

Doesn't look like much has happened there since I last saw it in May.

One at Quail Springs still isn't open.

we're trying it this afternoon.

we haven't tried it. there are too many other restaurants on our list. maybe next month. maybe is a relative term.

we haven't tried it. there are too many other restaurants on our list. maybe next month. maybe is a relative term.
went to the fuze last night. it was good, not great. very noisy! there was a live musician, very nice. too bad they kept the house music on. about the food. i did the mongolian bbq. beef, shrooms, onions and lo mien with garlic and hoisin sauce which wasn't very spicy. over all not bad but no better than what i've had in town, like lin's. i rate it a good. the sushi was good. had something with avocado. forget the name. the wasabi was extremely diluted. nose didn't run. same with the mustard. very wimpy. no general tso chicken. i like general tso chicken. had sesame and orange chicken. can't recommend the pizza. this review sounds negative but the food was as good as any buffet in town. nothing to write home about. the decor was very nice but i don't eat decor. lady love liked it very much so we'll go back. to tell the truth the chinese restaurants that deliver are just as good and cost far less.