MOFU Shoppe, the restaurant from Pho Nomenal Dumpling food truck, hosting sneak peek

MOFU Shoppe, the brick-and-mortar restaurant from Pho Nomenal Dumpling Truck, is getting close to opening its new City Market restaurant in downtown Raleigh.

An opening date hasn’t been set, but co-owner Sophia Woo said she hopes it’s in the next six weeks.

But the owners of the popular truck, who won the Food Network’s sixth season of “The Great Food Truck Race,” are giving fans a sneak peek Friday, May 12, starting at 5:30 p.m.

According to the restaurant’s website, visitors will be able to go inside the site to see the progress that’s been made. The space used to house Triangle Glides, a Segway tour company, that has moved elsewhere in City Market.

Their food truck will serve food outside in the parking lot. In addition to some of the Pho Nomenal Dumpling favorites – such as dumplings and pho – there also will be specials from the new MOFU Shoppe menu.

The truck was started by Woo and Sunny Lin in 2014. For the restaurant, they’re joined by Matt Kenner, owner of Milk Bar and Anchor Bar in Raleigh, and executive chef Andrew Schaumann, who owned the Sol Tacos food truck.

The new restaurant has been anticipated ever since Lin and Woo won $50,000 on the Food Network show in 2015. The show has food trucks racing across the country and completing a variety of challenges. Pho Nomenal Dumpling’s truck barely made it through an early episode after breaking down. But Woo, Lin and friend Becca Ruffin proved their stamina and ingenuity by getting through the challenge and subsequent tests.

When they returned to Raleigh, their following grew, and they began thinking of what their restaurant might look like.

Woo said the process of designing the space and menu has been organic between the owners, all who have different perspectives. But they all agree that they want the restaurant to feel “fun and inviting.”

“Sunny and I always joke that we love good food, but it doesn’t have to come from a super-fancy place,” Woo said. “That’s not us.”

She said the space and menu reflect their “nature and nurture” influence on traditional food. While the menu is Asian-inspired, and include the dumplings that made the truck so popular, the restaurant will put a twist on the dishes. Woo said she didn’t want to reveal too much about the menu, as they’re still formalizing it, but said Schaumann has taken their influences and ideas and elevated them.

“It’s sort of similar to the truck,” she said. “A lot of things will be presented in a way that fits the vibe.”

Schaumann, who has been the chef at Vivace in North Hills, also is bringing his own influences to the menu. The fish tacos, one of the most popular items on his food truck, will appear at MOFU Shoppe. They’re lightly fried flounder with a ginger cilantro sour cream and radish salsa.

“Maybe you’ve tried some of this food, it might be a brand new experience,” Woo said. “We’ll hold your hand along the way. Let’s have some fun with this.”

The space has two levels. The first floor has a large bar and extra seating. A mezzanine level has space for 30 people and private parties. There are benches and tables tucked under the mezzanine that are more intimate. There will be an “indoor-outdoor area” with a community table.

The restaurant will start serving dinner and then expand to lunch and brunch. The food truck will stay off the road for the rest of 2017, but Woo said she hopes it can resume operations for special events and catering in 2018.

Next Friday’s sneak peek also will feature artist Darany Samountry, who is creating the restaurant’s mural, and Chef Ryan McGuire, who is also known as DJ Rhymic.

Visitors are asked to bring food for a canned food drive to benefit Haven House Services, a Raleigh nonprofit that provides a variety of services to at-risk youth and their families. A portion of the proceeds from that night will go to the organization.

Info: MOFU Shoppe is at 321 S. Blount St., Raleigh. mofushoppe.com or facebook.com/mofushoppe. Pho Nomenal Dumpling can be found at facebook.com/PhoNomenalDumplings.

This story was originally published May 4, 2017 at 2:56 PM with the headline "MOFU Shoppe, the restaurant from Pho Nomenal Dumpling food truck, hosting sneak peek."