Dough Zone brings its brand of Chinese fare to Lacey

Dough Zone, a new authentic Chinese restaurant in Lacey, opened its doors on Wednesday, June 25, to welcome customers to try Xiao Long Bao — its specialty soup dumplings.  

The restaurant is part of a regional chain, with the location on Marvin Road NE being its 28th store.

Dough Zone began as a mom-and-pop shop in Bellevue, but in the past decade has expanded to other parts of Washington, Oregon, and Northern California, and has a few shops in Houston. Seven stores opened just last year, said Nancy Yun, Dough Zone Marketing Manager. 

Yun said that when looking at where to open a new location, Dough Zone staff saw there wasn’t a lot of authentic Chinese food in the South Sound area.

The eatery sits within the newly developed Hogum Bay Center with a wide variety of other types of restaurants, so it seemed like a good fit, she said.  

Dough Zone is fully staffed and serving Xiao Long Bao filled with pork, chicken or pork with crab.  

 "Made with a secret traditional recipe, each dumpling is filled with savory broth created by steaming seasoned meat and broth inside a delicate wrapper. These are traditionally steamed inside a little bamboo basket, thus the name Xiao (small) Long (basket) Bao (bun) was born,” Dough Zone said in a news release.  

Other popular items include Q-Bao — a pan-fried pork bun filled with juicy pork and broth, and Dan Dan Noodles — chewy umami-flavored noodles tossed in a spicy sauce with peppercorns.  

On Thursday, June 26, Dough Zone hosted a ribbon-cutting for staff and community members, including the South Sound Chamber. Lacey Deputy Mayor Malcolm Miller spoke briefly at the event, as well as the Dough Zone Senior Director of Operations Ryan Dermody.  

“Lacey is known to be a very small, business friendly community,” Miller said. “Companies like Dough Zone are a huge part of the success of what Lacey is.”  

Miller said the Hawks Prairie area is growing rapidly and thanked Dough Zone for choosing to locate the business within the area.  

“This opening in Lacey marks a meaningful expansion for us. While Dough Zone has built a strong following in the Seattle and east side markets, this is one of our first steps into South Sound territory,” Dermody said.

“It’s an exciting new chapter for us, and we’re thrilled to introduce our signature dishes to a broader audience while looking ahead to even more growth.” 

The Lacey location is 3,276 square feet and includes approximately 25 tables in a modern setting.  Dough Zone is located at 2480 Marvin Road NE, Suite D, in Lacey.