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Moy’s may reopen in two weeks

ELKHORN — A popular Chinese eatery should reopen soon.

Paul Moy, owner of Moy’s Restaurant in downtown Elkhorn, scribbled down his recipes a few weeks after his business burned Jan. 8, 2007.

“After the fire, that couple of weeks there, I thought, ‘Jeez, it’s going to take me a year or more to get back in business,’” Moy said. “I usually make all the seasoning and sauce every day, so I never had to write it down because I did it every day.”

His book of secrets is tucked away in a safe place, he said.

“Everything should be the same,” Moy said.

Wednesday, Feb. 27, is the tentative date for reopening.

“The remodeling has been going on pretty good,” Moy said. “It’s taking time. The restaurant is pretty big. Everything is going to be brand new.”

Fire gutted the restaurant, located on the first floor of the turn-of-the-century Elkhorn House hotel.

The early-morning blaze started with a pile of kitchen rags, which spontaneously combusted.

Moy was insured and so was able to remodel and reopen. The 59-year-old wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I figured, when I’m 62, I want to retire. Now, after the fire, retirement is no fun. I’m not going to retire when I’m 62,” he said. “A long time ago, I put in 55 to 65 hours a week. I realized retirement is really boring.”

Renovations cost about $1.55 million and furnishings cost an additional $225,000, he said.

Locals said they’ll be happy to see Moy’s reopen.

“We have been waiting for it,” Elkhorn’s Carol Jensen said of her and her husband, Tom. “We ate there about once a week since they opened. We missed it. It was the best Chinese food in town.”

The answering machine at Moy’s doesn’t list a new opening date, so hungry folks are asking the Elkhorn Area Chamber of Commerce.

“We have had so many phone calls,” said Heather Boggs, executive assistant. “People are like splitting at the seams, just waiting.”

The chamber got 23 calls last week asking when Moy’s was reopening.

“The food is wonderful,” Boggs said. “I think people want their business back to see it succeed again.”

Moy will bring back most of his 26 employees.

Workers were installing carpeting and tile Monday. Tables and chairs have been delivered but need to be assembled. Plates and silverware are on order and scheduled for delivery, Moy said.

He wants to have a “soft opening” to make sure everything works smoothly. He expects to have a grand opening sometime in early March.

“I just want to keep going,” he said. “The days are coming very close, but there is so much left to be done.”