Suzi Yi, the Austin restaurateur who has lived here for over 40 years, recently reopened her famous Suzi’s Chinese restaurant at 4805 Burnet Rd. after previously closing in 2018.
When she announced the closure of Suzi’s in 2018, Yi cited a desire to retire, but once the former northside location of Old Thousand on Burnet shut down, she decided to open her restaurant back up. “I missed my customers and wanted to see them,” she says during a recent lunch rush. It’s not just marketing-speak: She is constantly busy greeting new patrons and catching up with returning longtime customers as they file in, eager to support her and her business.
Yi is originally from South Korea and laughs when she says, “That’s why my Chinese is better!” Her first Austin restaurant, Suzi’s Chinese Kitchen on South Lamar, opened in 1990. Her local restaurant empire expanded over the years to include Suzi’s China Grill on Shoal Creek and Suzi’s China Grill and Sushi Bar on Bee Caves Rd. When she previously retired, she owned the building at her newer location and felt that she could comfortably generate income after closing her restaurants by renting out to tenants like District Kitchen.
After she decided to come back to the restaurant game à la Michael Jordan, she planned to have a sushi menu as well as her signature Chinese-influenced cuisine, but she felt that the former Old Thousand space was too small to accommodate the concept and moved to do just her Chinese menu. However, she hints that she may look at bringing back more of her previous menu items. Winking, she says, “Never say never, right?”
Suzi’s opened as of January 19 and plans to roll out more specials as they iron out their menu and workflow. Their hours are from 11am-9pm, Monday-Thursday, 11am-10pm, Friday-Saturday, and closed on Sundays.
This article appears in February 2 • 2024.
