A decades-old Greenwood staple is looking for a new home.
The Lotus Garden Chinese restaurant on Mercator Drive opened in 1965, and has been a prominent dining spot for many locals over the years. It is well known for its selection of traditional Chinese dishes, buffet and cocktail lounge.
But the restaurant has to move out of its building, which has become an icon in the city since its opening with the big “LOTUS” sign on the front facing U.S. 31.
The owner of the building, who is in his 80s, decided it was time to sell the property, said Jeff Tam, who has been the owner and manager of Lotus Garden for 25 years.
The restaurant has to move out at the end of the month, and they have not found a place to go yet, Tam said.
“Either the parking lot is too small, or the kitchen is too small … It is a long process. The work is tedious,” Tam said.
When the community found out about the Lotus Garden’s move and the closure of the building, a wave of people took to social media to share their memories of the restaurant. They also posted comments expressing their sadness to see the original building go.
A number of customers flooded the restaurant with calls asking what will happen to Lotus Garden in the future, Tam said.
“It’s been crazy. They’ve been calling,” Tam said.
The property was sold to Kopetzky Auto Wash, a locally owned car wash run by Austin Gore, who is also CEO of BoJak’s Bar and Grille in Franklin.
Kopetzky plans to tear down the building that houses Lotus Garden and put in a new car wash, its second in Greenwood, according to city documents. The original car wash is located at the Center Grove Marketplace on State Road 135.
Gore declined to comment on the specifics of the project while the company waits for approvals from the City of Greenwood.
The car wash would be nearly an exact replica of its State Road 135 location. The company sent several variance requests to the Greenwood Board of Zoning Appeals for approval to build the car wash. First is a use variance because Greenwood’s zoning for large commercial buildings does not explicitly include car washes, according to city documents.
There are also six development and dimensional variance requests regarding a large pole sign, exterior building materials and the size of the car wash tunnels and pay stations, city documents show.
The variance requests will be reviewed by the board at 6 p.m. today in the council chambers at the Greenwood City Center on Madison Avenue.
