Goodbye Tokyo: Hello Kobe and Noodles
Levi Hill/News-Sun
Hobbsans who enjoy a different dining experience from hamburgers and Mexican food will be saddened to hear Tokyo Steakhouse is closing.
But don’t fret, the Asian cuisine isn’t going far — it’s just moving over to Joe Harvey Boulevard under a new name.
“We are going with the same name as our Lubbock restaurant,” said Jerry Liu, son of owner Kevin Liu. “Our Lubbock location is Kobe Steakhouse.”
The new name comes with a new building currently beginning construction on Joe Harvey between Polk Stone Bank and Martin Boot Company.
“It is going to be pretty fancy,” Liu said. “(Kevin) is planning to go pretty big on investments to the interior. It is going to be better than (the Lubbock) one. I think the goal is to open in early 2025, probably January or so.”
He said the new location is slated to be around 8,000 square feet and includes a mixed drinks bar — something the existing location lacks.
The project is a long time in the making.
Liu said his father purchased the land in 2016 and has many offers since from developers wanting to purchase it.
He said his father knew the Joe Harvey location was an ideal spot for the business and with the 10-year lease they signed for the location in the Big Lots Shopping Center on Bender coming to an end, now was the perfect time to move.
Not only is the business moving, expanding and changing names, but Liu is also opening a new dining experience in Hobbs — an Asian noodle house.
“It is basically Asian style noodles, dry or with soup,” Liu said. “He is also wanting to include some basic dishes, sesame chicken and so forth.”
The noodle house is currently in the works and could be open by this summer at 220 W. Bender, the former Dairy Queen west of Miller-Waldrop.
Liu said the building is being renovated now and will take a lot of work but will look completely different when completed.
“It is a new thing for him,” Liu said of his father’s noodle house plan. “He is bringing in people to do that one who have experience with noodle shops.”
He said the noodle house will also offer milk teas. He added the business name for the noodle house is still up in the air and they are open to suggestions for a name.
