Zen - New Vietnamese restaurant in the works, Lafayette

LINK

I was able to swing by this place to see how far along they were and although they had a lit sign, the place is virtually gutted except for light fixtures and a permit hanging in the window.

I'm not sure if that area needs another Vietnamese place, but I wish them well. What could set them apart would be their hours. Just down the road you've got Maesone Noodle House with really good food, and then there's Blu Basil even closer with top notch everything. The problem with those places is that they close in the afternoon, which is usually when I get a hankering for noodles.

Also not too far away is Pho Saigon and Saigon Noodles, so that area is fairly saturated with the cuisine.

Zen is going to have a crappy location as well. That spot is really hard to get in and out of from Amb Caff, and no one even likes to drive that road. If you're coming from the North, you can't even make a left turn. Not sure what they're gonna draw from either. There are some businesses around there, but I don't see it as a Viet cuisine crowd. Gonna be interesting.