Westland's newest seafood restaurant would not exist if not for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kenny and Sue Yim left their former restaurant, Fortune Buffet at Five Mile and Middlebelt in Livonia, in 2019 before the pandemic began. As they went on, they discovered they weren't completely ready to retire and decided to open another restaurant.
After driving by the building that formerly housed Pizza Hut across from the Westland Shopping Center one day, the two decided it was the perfect spot to open another eatery.
"We stay home, it's very difficult all the time," she said. "We drive through and we said, 'Oh, this is a good location.' And we tried to open something easy.
"Me and my husband said we can do it."
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The name of that restaurant is Crab Kitchen, located at 7520 N. Wayne Road. It opened in December and focuses on dishes such as seafood boils, fried fish and chicken; and po' boy sandwiches. Such a restaurant is a far cry from the buffet, which was more taxing, Yim said.
They took control of the space late last year and spent several months preparing it to serve seafood. Pizza Hut closed last spring, leaving the building in the city's Shop and Dine district vacant for several months.
They updated the kitchen and brought in their own cooking equipment and painted the space. There's still some touches of the Pizza Hut inside: several dining room tables and chairs remained, and the Yims decided to keep them.
"We don't want to waste anything," Sue Yim said. "The tables and chairs are in very good condition. Why would we change them?"
The seafood boils are made of many of the usual ingredients found in such a dish: seafood such as crab or crawfish, corn; potatoes; and an egg. The restaurant also offers some add-ons to them, including noodles, zucchini and carrot.
"This is something we wanted to do," she said.
Sue Yim said even with opening just for carryout at the beginning, the restaurant has received plenty of business from area residents craving seafood.
That's something, she said, that speaks highly of their food since they are not doing much marketing right now.
"We have a lot of return customers. We don't do any advertising, no advertising at all, just this sign," she said pointing to the "grand opening" sign on the building. "Most of it is word of mouth."
Getting the restaurant ready was easier than what the couple expected when it came to city inspections. Sue Yim said city inspectors and other officials were very responsive in helping them get the restaurant's doors open as quick as possible.
"I think people understand it's a COVID time," she said.
Crab Kitchen is open for both carryout and some dine-in under the limited capacity that began Feb. 1. The restaurant is open 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday. Orders can be placed by calling 734-744-7655 or online at crabkitchen.ordereze.net.
Contact reporter David Veselenak at dveselenak@hometownlife.com or 734-678-6728. Follow him on Twitter @davidveselenak.
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