The shuttered Shari’s Restaurant in Keizer will come to life later this year as a second location for the popular Pho Keizer.
Jonathon Nguyen, who founded the restaurant with his wife Teresa in 2018, said he hopes to open the new location in about six months. The current location is at 3400 River Road N., at the south end of Keizer.
The family bought the property at the corner of North River and Chemawa Roads. Shari’s opened in Keizer in 1996 and abruptly closed last September and has sat vacant since.
“There is a lot of work to do,” Nguyen said to prepare for opening.
The Marion County Assessor’s Office lists the market value of the property, which is about a half acre, at $1.6 million.
Nguyen and his wife are natives of Vietnam.
He said he arrived in the U.S. in 1985, spending time in Michigan before moving with relatives to California. He later moved to Portland and then about 20 years ago, bought a restaurant in Salem. He operated Thai Delight in south Salem until 2005.
Nguyen said he was establishing the second location to provide jobs for relatives.
“More family members are coming” from Vietnam, he said.
He said the community has been friendly and supportive of Pho Keizer.
“I just want to thank everybody for supporting us, for cheering for us,” he said.
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