Big changes are coming to Bo Lings Chinese Restaurant in the historic Skelly Building by the Country Club Plaza.
Owners Bo “Richard” and Far Ling “Theresa” Ng are partnering with another local company, W.VinZant Restaurants, to change the name, concept, and look of their flagship restaurant.
“They have a stronger management team that can help facilitate this next step and multiple restaurant concepts,” Richard Ng said. “And Whitney (VinZant) is passionate about the restaurant business.”
VinZant’s group owns such local operations as The Brew Top Pub & Patio, BRGR Kitchen + Bar, Gram & Dun, Louie’s Wine Dive, Taco Republic, Taco Republic Truck, and Va Bene Italian Eatery, as well as eateries in other markets.
It will manage the new concept at 4701 Jefferson St. to be called Heritage – Asian American Fusion.
Heritage will feature Bo Lings staples along with new high-quality items such as whole turbot served tableside, fresh lobster pad Thai, Asian-braised short ribs, and wood-fired steaks with house-aged Asian serving sauces. It will have a range of sake-inspired cocktails, an extensive collection of Asian whiskys.
David M. Block, commercial realtor and partner in the Skelly building, introduced the Ngs and VinZant at his son’s wedding in late 2022.
They became friends and began dining at each other’s restaurants. Over dinners, discussions would often turn to the restaurant industry, the breadth of Asian cuisines, and the culture and traditions of Bo Lings, its on-the-menu items, but also its off-the menu items.
“I fell in love with the quality and comfort of Bo Lings traditional cuisine,” VinZant said in a statement. “The deeper you go into Bo Lings food, and of course in Bo Lings’ Dim Sum, the more interesting, and in our opinion, delicious the food is.
“I asked Bo and Far Ling, why don’t you serve these items to guests?”
VinZant and Corey Gonzalez, COO and partner in W.VinZant Restaurants, pitched a partnership on a new Asian concept in the Skelly space. The deal was finalized June 7.
The restaurant will be open during the remodel, which will include a barrel ceiling, fine hardwoods, hand-painted murals and other original artwork.
The Ngs met as teenagers, working side-by-side in her father’s Dragon Inn in Overland Park.
They married and launched their first restaurant, Bo Lings Chinese Restaurant, in 1981. Then they added a location in the Board of Trade building by the Plaza, in 1988. They relocated to the 12,000-square-foot space in the Skelly Building in 2012.
They now have six locations including Bo’s Kitchen, an express operation, in the City Market. Block did the negotiations for the first restaurant and has represented the Ngs in most of their expansions.
Among their most popular orders are lettuce wraps, steamed or pan-fried pork dumplings, sauteed whole flounder and their signature dish: Beijing roasted duck.
Weekend lunches they roll out a Dim Sum special at the Plaza and Metcalf restaurants.
“It resembles Spanish tapas with small plates such as barbecue bao buns, shrimp dumplings and lotus leaf rice,” Richard Ng said. He will continue the Dim Sum specials under the new concept.
The Ngs’ daughter and son and their spouses also work in the restaurants. They have more than 100 employees, including about 30 at the Plaza location.
