Lao Sze Chuan opens Friday, September 18, 2026, in Strongsville, taking over the former Red Lobster near SouthPark Mall. It is Sheng Long Yu’s third Lao Sze Chuan location overall, following locations in Orange Village and Pittsburgh, and the second Lao Sze Chuan in Ohio, according to Cleveland Scene.
The address became available after Red Lobster planned to close the Strongsville restaurant during its 2024 bankruptcy proceedings. WKYC reported that Red Lobster rejected 23 leases nationwide, including the Strongsville location.
A full conversion of the former seafood space
Yu told Cleveland Scene that the team removed nearly everything inside and rebuilt the restaurant. The finished space has a central bar, a glass-enclosed wine cellar and private rooms with button-operated lazy Susans. The opening menu includes Sichuan-style whole fish, Peking duck and more familiar American-Chinese dishes; the restaurant is starting with dinner service only.
The Strongsville location follows the brand’s earlier suburban expansion in Orange Village. Cleveland Scene reported that the Pinecrest restaurant, which opened in 2023, used components shipped from China and assembled onsite. Strongsville uses a related design approach but differs in its chairs, booth upholstery and color scheme.
Lao Sze Chuan was founded in Chicago in 1998 by Sichuan-born chef Tony Hu. Cleveland Scene reported that Travel and Leisure named it the country’s top Chinese restaurant in 1999.
Part of a longer SouthPark reuse story
A May 2021 acquisition involving Kize Capital LP and Spinoso Real Estate Group was reported. Strongsville City Council minutes do not, however, establish the mall’s complete ownership or management history before that discussion or a broader pattern of retail space being backfilled with non-retail.
The city’s broader planning documents provide context for why older commercial properties may be reused. The Cuyahoga County Planning Commission’s Strongsville Master Plan says developments built about 20 years earlier were entering a cycle of maintenance and redevelopment needs. That is general planning context, not evidence that the plan caused or specifically anticipated the Lao Sze Chuan project.
Nearby investment also predates the restaurant. In 2018, cleveland.com reported that the Royalton Collection office-retail development was planned along Ohio 82 across from SouthPark Mall. The project is a separate example of corridor development, and the available record does not establish that it is connected to Lao Sze Chuan or to every later tenant change around the mall.
For now, the confirmed change is narrower: a national seafood chain’s former Strongsville space has been substantially rebuilt for a Sichuan restaurant, giving SouthPark Mall another nontraditional retail use while the surrounding corridor continues to adapt.
