[UPDATE] Alex Kinjo Bringing Vietnamese Eats to Virginia Highland

 A new restaurant called Mai Kitchen is slated to open in March in Virginia Highland. The restaurant, which replaces Genki Noodle and Sushi (1040 North Highland Avenue), is being opened by Alex Kinjo, who over the years has opened more than a half dozen Asian restaurants around metro Atlanta including MF Sushi, NAM and Sakura Ramen Bar, among others.  Genki, which closed in 2020, had been in business for about a decade.  When Genki opened in 2011, it replaced longtime neighborhood favorite Everybody's Pizza, which had been a Virginia Highland mainstay for two decades.  

Mai, according to newly installed "coming soon" signage, will, like many of Kinjo's other restaurants, be Vietnamese-focused offering such things as Banh Mi (Vietnamese sandwich), Chả giò (Crispy Vietnamese Egg Roll) and Bánh xèo (Crispy and Savory Vietnamese Crepes).  

Mai Kitchen does not yet have its own social media accounts, but signage at the restaurant directs interested parties to NamAtlanta.com, the website of Kinjo's Nam Kitchen, which was from 2003 until 2011 located in Midtown Promenade, before being reborn in City Springs in Sandy Springs in late 2018.  

Given what seems to be a similar menu and shared website with Nam, it's a little puzzling that Kinjo did not bring the Nam name back to intown Atlanta and instead chose to create a new concept.  This idea is further perplexing when you consider the fact that less than a half mile away, at 961 Amsterdam Avenue, is the similarly named Mali Thai & Sushi, a popular longtime restaurant in the Virginia Highland community.  

Are you excited for the opening of Mai Kitchen in Virginia Highland?  What is your favorite Vietnamese dish?  What other types of restaurants would you like to see open in Virginia Highland?  

Please share your thoughts below.