Juicy Dumpling has opened at The Boardwalk at University Place, bringing handmade Chinese dumplings, bao and noodle dishes to the retail center at 8933 J M Keynes Drive, Suite 1. Owner Fahong Zhang told the Charlotte Observer that the restaurant held its grand opening Sept. 2.
The restaurant occupies the former Crafty Crab Seafood space. Its menu includes steamed, pan-fried and soup dumplings, along with bao, spring rolls, scallion pancakes, chow mein, fried rice and noodle dishes. Juicy Dumpling lists hours as 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, according to the Observer’s report.
The opening adds a Chinese dining option to a University City corridor that has changed substantially since the Blue Line extension began service in 2018. Cambridge Properties reports that hundreds of apartments have been added along the corridor since the rail line started running, providing a broader residential backdrop for new restaurants and other businesses without establishing that housing growth caused this particular opening.
A local comparison
Charlotte has also seen other dumpling-focused concepts move into permanent restaurant spaces. The Charlotte Observer reported that The Dumpling Lady opened at 327 W. Tremont Ave. in South End on Sept. 27, 2023, after starting as a food truck and later opening at Optimist Hall in 2019.
The comparison is limited: The Dumpling Lady’s South End location was an expansion of an existing Charlotte business, while the available reporting on Juicy Dumpling documents the new Boardwalk location but does not establish the restaurant’s broader business history or whether it has additional locations.
For now, Juicy Dumpling’s significance is specific to the Boardwalk: it fills a former restaurant suite with a menu centered on dumplings and other Chinese comfort-food staples. Whether it becomes part of a larger tenant shift at the center remains to be seen.
