Restauranteur Billy Dec is opening a second Chicago outpost of Sunda New Asian in Fulton Market District. First reported by Crain’s Chicago (paywall), the new location will open in spring or summer 2022 at 333 Green, which houses the Chicago offices of WPP Group, TikTok and Ernst & Young, among others.
Dec opened the first location of Sunda in River North back in 2009 under his restaurant group Rockit Ranch. Acclaim has since piled on for the upscale Asian fusion concept, the menu of which was inspired by Dec’s travels throughout Southeast Asia and emphasizes includes flavors of the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan and China, among others. Oxtail potstickers, lemongrass beef lollipops, pad Thai and pork belly are all customer favorites, according to Yelp, as are the red dragon and spicy tuna rolls from its sushi menu.
The new Sunda location is part of a larger expansion for the concept, Dec told Crain’s. The restaurant’s first out-of-state outpost opened in 2018 in the Gulch neighborhood of Nashville, Tenn., and more are on the way: Dec has signed a lease for a new Sunda in Tampa, Fla., and he is scouting locations in Atlanta Dallas, Denver, Houston and Scottsdale, Ariz., too.
What Now Chicago has reached out to Dec for an interview and will update this story with more information.
