HuHot Mongolian Grill located at 2712 S Columbia Rd. Photo by Chester Beltowski/The Dakota Student.

Earlier this year, a HuHot Mongolian Grill opened in Grand Forks. This is the third HuHot to open in North Dakota.

The restaurant, which has locations in Fargo and Bismarck, is known for its cooks preparing food on a large circular grill using ingredients that customers have picked out themselves.

“You can pick the product that you like, and that’s what goes into your meal,” president of Pentex Management Bryon Itterman said, who operates the other two HuHot restaurants in North Dakota and another in Wisconsin. “You can’t get a fresher meal when they pull it right off the grill and hand it to you.”

Since its opening, HuHot has been packed nearly every night, but according to some restaurant goers, the experience was lacking.

“We were very excited to try it out, and we were turned away at the door — the gentleman was unapologetic,” sophomore Melissa Drum said. “The restaurant closed at 7:00 p.m. on a Saturday night.”

According to an employee at the new restaurant, there were a few problems immediately after opening.

“They didn’t prepare well at all for a restaurant this size opening,” UND junior and HuHot waitress Kaitlyn Lucas said. “There wasn’t enough staff at first, and they weren’t trained well enough to be working by themselves. We closed early almost every night at first, which really bothered a lot of customers that would come expecting us to still be open. I think it’s getting a lot better as time goes on, though.”

It seems, however, that the new restaurant has made a good impression on some.

“I have gone to HuHot a couple times since it opened,” UND freshman Kadence Smith said. “It was always really good. The employees were really friendly, and the food was delicious. I will definitely be going back.”

Graduate student Mathew Long also commented on the new restaurant.

“My friends and I went to HuHot on opening day,” Long said. “Our experience was awesome. The restaurant looked really nice, everyone was really friendly and on the ball. I loved it. Plus, the food was great.”

HuHot is located on South Columbia, at the former site of the Frandsen Bank & Trust. The previously vacant building was demolished to make way for a 10,000 square-foot commercial space, with HuHot occupying half.

Katie Haines is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. She can be reached at [email protected].