Popular Amarillo Building Has a New Tenant to Tempt Your Tastebuds

The thing about Amarillo is this city has seen its share of restaurants come and go, and leave empty buildings.

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In October 2022, an Amarillo restaurant closed its doors and said goodbye.  This restaurant had been open for over 20 years.

China Star

At the time of its closure, I don't think anyone was really surprised that it closed its doors. It had continuous negative reviews, and honestly, it's shocking that this business survived the COVID pandemic.

China Star was an all-you-can-eat buffet, and many people enjoyed having lunch or dinner at the establishment. However, when they closed their doors, they left behind a very unique building in a prime location off I-40.

What's Going into the Old China Star Building?

That has been the question for the last 2 years. What will move into this building? Of course, speculation of what would move into the former restaurant flooded social media sites. Even the note left on the door by China Star after closing said that it would be another restaurant.

It's safe to assume they already knew the future of the building because it was sold in the same month they closed the restaurant.

I guess the near future was only 2 years, and now we have an answer as to what is moving into the location at 6721 I-40 Frontage Rd.

Yanagi Hibachi

Yanagi Hibachi is the restaurant that will take over the China Star building. It will likely be a hibachi restaurant.  This will join at least 4 other hibachi restaurants in Amarillo.

The estimated completion of construction is October 2024, which would be fitting since China Star closed in 2022.  The estimated cost of remodeling the building is $500,000.

Here is more speculation for you, on PRAD the owner is shown as Wangda Realty with the address of 8440 W Interstate 40. If you search that address, that is the address of Lin's Grand Buffet.  It seems safe to speculate that this business will be operated by the owners of Lin's Grand Buffet or they own the property at 6721 I-40 Frontage Rd.

There you have it, an answer to a 2-year-long question.