New restaurant planned in Kettering at former sports bar site vacant for years

A new Asian restaurant is planned for a Wilmington Pike building that has been vacant for years. CONTRIBUTED

Credit: CONTRIBUTED

Credit: CONTRIBUTED

A new Asian restaurant is planned for a Wilmington Pike building that has been vacant for years. CONTRIBUTED

KETTERING — A new Asian restaurant is planned for a Wilmington Pike building that has been vacant for years.

Michael Cui’s Restaurant also plans to expand the dining space at the former Norton’s at 2505 Wilmington by adding a patio, records show.

Cui said he has obtained a building permit and has hired a general contractor to remodel the site. But he doesn’t plan to open the restaurant for about a year, citing issues related to the economy and the coronavirus.

“This is not a good time to open a new business,” he said.

When the restaurant opens, Cui said it would create about 10 jobs

The plans include “significant remodeling to the building and the site inside and outside,” Kettering Planning and Development Director Tom Robillard said.

About 3,000 square feet of patio dining space will be added north and east of the building, which has 4,700 square feet, Robillard said.

Among the upgrades planned for the site, city records show, include:

•Building façade renovations.

•Pagodas, planters and fireplaces in the yard.

•Adding connections from city sidewalks to the property.

Cui said he is uncertain when the work will begin.

The restaurant will receive up to $25,000 from the city of Kettering to help fund the remodeling. The money is part of Kettering’s Wilmington Pike façade and improvement program that helps properties in the corridor conform to city code, Robillard said.

The building has been vacant since 2009, when Norton’s moved to the former Lincoln Park Grille adjacent to Fraze Pavilion.

The sports bar and restaurant had been at the Wilmington site for 24 years.

In 2018, the land was bought by Shen Lian Chun and Xue Cheng Cui for $180,000, according to Montgomery County Auditor’s Office records.

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