Hot pot restaurant chain poised to open first Lansing area location
DELTA TWP. — KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot expects to open its first Lansing area location off West Saginaw Highway this month, according to one of the restaurant's managers.
The new location, at 5924 W. Saginaw Hwy., is expected to open "around Mother’s Day," said Anika Huang, a manager reached by phone. An exact opening date hasn't been set beyond "mid-May," she said.
The Korean barbeque and hot pot chain restaurant has been in the works since last spring after the chain leased the former Buddy's Pizza, a 6,350-square-foot space that's been vacant since the pizzeria closed its doors in fall 2022.
Huang said the location has hired about 30 people for the new location.
"We are still hiring,” she said.
Delta Township Community & Economic Development Director Peter Menser said via email that "KPOT is still in the process of finishing permitted work, but is in the latter stages of that work." The restaurant has not received a certificate of occupancy yet, he said.
The KPOT chain, founded in 2018, serves hot pot, described on the restaurant's website as "a beloved culinary tradition due to its communal dining experience where friends and family gather around a simmering pot of broth, cooking and sharing a variety of meats, seafood, vegetables, and noodles."
KPOT offers "a unique, hands-on all-you-can-eat dining experience that merges traditional Asian hot pot with Korean barbecue flavors — but modernized with a full bar and a nightlife-like atmosphere," said the website.
The menu listed on the chain's website includes a variety of soup bases, including "Japanese miso" and "Szechuan spicy," several sliced meats, including pork, lamb, and prime brisket, vegetables and noodles.
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The chain operates more than 70 locations in 27 states, according to its website. Its first Michigan location, one of three, opened in Novi last year.
More than 50 "coming soon" locations are listed on the chain's website, including the Delta Township restaurant.
KPOT is one of two hot pot restaurants coming to the township. Grand Ledge-based Dong Properties bought the 2.5-acre former Golden Corral property near the Lansing Mall, at 730 Elmwood Road, in April 2023.
Andy Dong, one of the property's owners, confirmed in January plans to open IPot, a buffet-style hot pot barbecue restaurant, at the site.
Contact Reporter Rachel Greco at rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on X @GrecoatLSJ .
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot to open Lansing area location
