New Restaurant Prepping For Expansion To Buckland Mall In Manchester

MANCHESTER, CT — A new restaurant seems to be abruptly moving into a Buckland Hills mall location that just had a restaurant abruptly move out.

On Friday, a box truck was backed up to a vacant restaurant spot at the mall and a sign indicated it was for Hungry Pot, a Korean barbecue restaurant with an all-you-can-eat element.

Both the mall website and Hungry Pot's website indicated. the eatery was "coming soon."

The menu features dishes with pork, chicken, beef, seafood and vegetables.

Hungry Pot also has a north central Connecticut location on the Silas Deane Highway in Wethersfield.

Hungry Pot is taking over a notorious vacancy at the Shoppes at Buckland Hills — the spot where Crab du Jour pulled out in October after just more than a year in business. The old sign hasn't even been removed yet.

The brand first emerged on the business scene in Buckland Hills in July 2019, when a sign popped upon in front of the old Hometown Buffet location in the Buckland Hills commercial district.

In November 2020, Crab Du Jour officials said the restaurant had abandoned that location in favor of a location in a corner at Buckland Hills, near Barnes and Noble.

It opened at the mall on Sept. 17, 2021. In December of that year, the restaurant hosted a VIP party where town officials and members of the media were allowed to sample the menu.

On Oct. 11, after a fateful last Columbus Day social media post, the restaurant sailed off the edge of the map.