Silk - Modern Asian Tapas Coming to Scottsdale

James started from the ground up, working as a bus boy in several of his family's restaurants where he eventually became general manager. He then worked in fine dining restaurants and prestigious hotels in Scottsdale as a member of the opening team while he gained experience with a keen eye to detail. He recently served as senior corporate trainer at an upper crust steakhouse, instilling the impact of customer experience and brand loyalty to employees.

His food concept stems from a trip to Toronto, dining in a downtown restaurant serving Japanese tapas based on the Izakaya concept, a Japanese "gastropub" atmosphere for an engaging dining experience. James has also made frequent trips to Japan to research this type of cuisine and dining style, offering a variety of small plates that's big on flavor including meats, seafood and vegetarian with east Asian flavorings and a hint of western influence. He knows that the mark of an exceptional venue is one that offers the best of a country's cuisine with locally-sourced ingredients whenever possible, and tantalizing menu items like braised barbeque pork belly in a steamed bun, Peking duck flatbread, Korean street tacos, ramen burger sliders and Thai-stuffed tofu.

Asian beers and spirits like Japanese sake, Korean soju and many other liquors will be made into specialty handcrafted cocktails infused with new and traditional drinks that will complement the culinary journey through Asia.

Silk - Modern Asian Tapas will be an upbeat place where people come together and engage in conversation, make new friends and share great food. Attentive hospitality found in a high-end steakhouse will be the hallmark of service at Silk, yet approachable and casual. Silk will be open late for office workers pulling late shifts, a late date night and a destination for restaurant and hotel industry workers, serving food and drink to 1 a.m. and closing at 2 a.m. The restaurant will also be open for lunch and have special menus for Happy Hour and Reverse Happy Hour.

Opening in the Scottsdale area in fall-2017, the design for the 4,000-square-foot Asian restaurant will reflect a contemporary, yet comfortable design with modern lighting, textured walls, rich cherry wood, open ceilings and an exhibition kitchen with a counter to dine and enjoy interacting with the chefs.

James strongly believes in giving back to the community and connecting with people in which he lives and conducts business and regularly volunteers in several charitable organizations he belongs and donates to Shriner Hospitals for children and Phoenix-area feed the hungry organizations.

"Instead of bringing in traditional investors, we want to partner with the community and share the opportunity with those who have the same passion of a family-run business focused on the all-encompassing dining experience and hospitality in an upbeat environment," said Xie. Silk seeks to raise a minimum goal of $50,000 in additional capital. The offering is being carried out with the Kickstarter crowdfunding platform and will last until mid-January. The Silk offering is available at www.tiny.cc/silktapas.

Follow Silk - Modern Asian Tapas on Facebook www.facebook.com/silktapas,  Twitter www.twitter.com/silktapas and Instagram www.instagram.com/silktapas.

SOURCE Silk