The owners of New Garden Restaurant plan to reopen Jan. 1 after being closed since mid-October.

The establishment temporarily closed because of Gov. Jay Inslee’s mandates, said Kevin Lam, the restaurant owner’s son and employee.

“With 2020, it is hard to operate a restaurant and be profitable,” Lam said. 

To comply with Inslee’s prohibitions on indoor dining, the restaurant plans to offer take out because there is no outdoor seating or space available, Lam said.

The family runs two restaurants, including Golden Teriyaki. They chose to keep Golden Teriyaki open to provide the Pullman community with food, Lam said. Closing both restaurants would not have been feasible because the family would not make enough money.

The restaurant’s chefs have been working on creating new dishes to add to the menu once the restaurant reopens, Lam said. Special dishes will be available to entice people to visit the restaurant.

The business has formed strong relationships with customers in the Pullman community for 35 years, and Lam said he attributes their success to the dedication of employees and customers.

“I still see a lot of my regular customers today, and they tell me stories of when they remember I was 3, or 5 or 7 years old and barely tall enough to poke my head over the table,” Lam said. “It’s one of those small communities where I think we will always have that support.”