PORT NECHES, Texas — Last week, a Southeast Texas restaurant owner announced their plans for a new riverfront restaurant in Port Neches.
Min Dai, owner of Pour 09 and Ko Korean Grill is creating an entirely different concept from the spaces he's created before.
Pour Neches is a new venture that revolves around the riverfront experience.
"Our goal is to bring in a family-friendly, plus pickleball space," said Dai.
Groundbreaking has already begun on the new restaurant along the Neches River. Port Neches city officials and Dai say the process started over two years ago.
"The community there has always been very welcoming, and really supportive. I was kind of presented with the opportunity. to possibly do something on the waterfront," Dai said.
Construction crews are already on sight leveling the area. The new space is set to bring a beach house vibe, with live music, pickleball and more.
"Kind of presenting an opportunity where it's just not a restaurant and family-friendly... and more pickleball courts," Dai told 12News.
While the rest of Dai's restaurant ventures all connect to Asian cuisine, he says he hopes to bring an Asian & Cajun fusion to seafood classics.
"The goal was to take American dining and fuse it with Asian Cajun. So a little mix of what I do, and what's in Southeast Texas. We don't want to leave out the Cajun influences because especially with Louisiana being next door. They really influence our food," he said.
Their hope is to bring more businesses., and ultimately, help the community of Port Neches, with adding more people to their growing team of 250 employees across all of their businesses.
"With this unit we will probably have 40-50 jobs, so the restaurant is just phase one. Even for future retail partnerships that we will keep in the community," said Dai.
While Dai doesn't want to give all the secrets away, he thinks Pour Neches is going to add to the community.
"I want to show the community that we can really give back and they hopefully will respond really well to us when we open our doors," Dai said.
Pour Neches is expected to be open by 2025 at the latest. But Dai hopes to open even earlier than that.