A 10-story development proposed at the Middleton property housing both the Imperial Garden restaurant and the neighboring Garden Asian Market will now incorporate both businesses, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.
The news follows a statement last month by Tom Sanford of Sanford Enterprises, a Madison-based real estate company, that the American-Chinese restaurant could not move into the future residential building there due to smoke and cooking smells generated by the restaurant.
It was unclear whether Imperial Garden, which has been located at 2039 Allen Blvd. since the early 1980s, would move. That property and Asian Garden Market at 6136 University Ave. are owned by Henry Chen, while the restaurant is owned by longtime head chef Zhenxi Ou.
Sanford said Wednesday that the restaurant and market will remain as tenants in the new development. His team is requesting a zoning change to the site to allow a building up to 10 stories tall.
A public hearing for the rezoning is set for Oct. 28 at 7 p.m.
