Passport Restaurant and Lounge at 3776 S. State St. is missing its distinctive sign as it closes indefinitely for renovations.
Ben Freed | AnnArbor.com
The building housing the restaurant is now closed and the large “Passport” sign on the front of the building is no longer displayed. There have been no updates on the restaurant’s website or Facebook page indicating when a reopening will occur.
The “closed for renovations” announcement was posted on Oct. 15. However, Pittsfield Township supervisor Mandy Grewal said her staff has not received any applications for the permits required for renovations or additions to the location.
Before the closing, a restaurant employee said over the phone that she had not been told when management was planning finish the renovations.
Passport is the venture of Jenny Wu and husband Jin Huang whose first restaurants were Lucky Kitchen Chinese locations in Ann Arbor. The two opened the Passport restaurant in the summer of 2010 as way to take their culinary reach beyond Chinese food.
Before Passport, the building owned by A&Z Investments was home to a branch of Novi-based Cherry Blossom Japanese restaurant, and before that it was home to Ann Arbor’s Chi-Chi’s franchise. The restaurant's doors still have the “Cherry Blossom” glass etchings, while may of the windows still say “Chi-Chi’s.”
Passport serves a fusion of foods from across the globe including Asian, Italian, Mexican, and American. The lounge has also hosted an array of events including salsa dancing, wine tastings, and even belly dance performances.
Passports owners and the operators of A&Z Investments could not be reached for comment for this article.
Ben Freed covers business for AnnArbor.com. You can sign up here to receive Business Review updates every week. Reach out to Ben at 734-623-2528 or email him at benfreed@annarbor.com. Follow him on twitter @BFreedinA2