New restaurant Surf to Turf serves sushi, Korean BBQ, hotpot

Tim Harty, The Business Times 

A lot of Grand Junction residents will walk into Surf to Turf, 1100 Independent Ave., knowing the new restaurant resides in the building that was the longtime home to Golden Corral Buffet & Grill.

But former Golden Corral patrons won’t recognize a thing. Not one thing.

That’s because a renovation, which Surf and Turf’s owners thought might be considerably easier with a restaurant as the previous occupant, proved to be unfathomably more difficult.

“The condition of the building was really bad,” said Surf to Turf manager Ming Lin, whose parents own Surf to Turf as well as Grand International Buffet, 2504 U.S. Highway 6&50, Unit 500. “It was miserable in the building, and a lot of stuff needed to be replaced.”

He said it took almost a year to get the construction done, but they brought the building “up to code, every inch of it.”

Or, putting it another way, Lin said, “There’s no Golden Corral left in the building.”

Instead, there is now a sushi, Korean barbecue and hotpot restaurant, which opened July 13 and seats 266 people.

Because Lin’s parents already own a buffet-style restaurant, they wanted something different in the 9,400 square feet at 1100 Independent Ave.

“Really the whole reason we opened this restaurant,” Lin said, “we want to bring this community something new and fun and a new experience, dining experience. And I want to have people have a nice sit-down, enjoy their meal. … We want to provide good food, good time, good environment, good atmosphere to people.”

Naming the restaurant Surf to Turf reflects the food offerings. Lin said it serves deep-sea fish that is flown in fresh from New York, so that obviously is the surf.

“Deep-sea tuna, salmon and mackerel, yellow tail, all that great stuff for our sushi options,” Lin said. “And we do provide the fresh uni as well.”

For the turf, he said the Korean barbecue and hotpot have “phenomenal meat options,” especially when it comes to beef.

“Really, it’s a beef festival, if you look at the menu,” Lin said.

“We have so many cuts of steak,” he said, adding some of the meat is marinated. Otherwise, it’s fresh-cut.

“Once you order from the server … the butcher in the back room will fresh cut the beef in a refrigerated cutting room and then bring to the customer,” Lin said, “so the meat doesn’t sit on the cold bar.”

Surf to Turf also has a full-service liquor bar.

Lin said the restaurant currently has about 30 employees, and he hopes to increase the employee count to 40-plus.

Grand Junction has other restaurants that serve sushi, Korean barbecue and/or hotpot, but Lin thinks Surf to Turf distinguishes itself with “our secret, home-made seasoning and how fresh the meat is. We don’t use any junk stuff.”