For nearly two decades, New York’s soup dumpling faithful have made the pilgrimage to Flushing. In 2027, that trip gets a lot shorter for one of the city’s outer boroughs.
Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao — the Michelin-recognized institution built on handcrafted Shanghainese cuisine — is officially coming to Staten Island. The brand will open at 280 Marsh Avenue in New Springville, right next to the Staten Island Mall, marking its debut in the borough.
From Flushing Favorite to New York Dining Destination
Established in Flushing in 2006, Nan Xiang has grown from a neighborhood gem into one of the nation’s most recognized Shanghainese restaurant brands. The Michelin Guide has celebrated the restaurant for nine consecutive years, largely on the strength of its signature soup dumplings and traditional craftsmanship.
The name itself carries weight: the brand is inspired by Nan Xiang (南翔), the birthplace of Xiao Long Bao — a heritage story that anchors everything on the menu.
“For nearly two decades, guests have traveled to Queens to experience our handcrafted soup dumplings and Shanghainese comfort food,” said Michael Ma, Co-Founder of Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao. “Every new restaurant gives us the opportunity to introduce another community to the tradition of Xiao Long Bao and the joy of sharing a meal together. We’re excited to become part of the Staten Island community and welcome guests around our table with the same recipes, craftsmanship, and hospitality that have defined Nan Xiang since 2006.”
An Open Kitchen and a Menu Built to Share
A centerpiece of the new location is its open kitchen, where every xiao long bao is meticulously rolled, filled, and hand-pleated before being steamed to order. That transparency delivers the signature delicate skin, rich broth, and succulent fillings — and doubles as built-in theater for guests.
The menu will feature the dishes that earned Nan Xiang national recognition, including the Lucky Six Soup Dumplings, a colorful assortment of six signature dumplings with distinct fillings and naturally colored wrappers:
Pork
Crab & Pork
Chicken
Pork & Truffle
Luffa Shrimp & Pork
Scallop & Pork
The offerings extend well beyond the steamer basket. Designed for family-style dining, the menu showcases the depth of Shanghainese cuisine alongside regional Chinese specialties — comforting noodle dishes, wok-fired stir-fries, crispy pan-fried pork buns, scallion pancakes, dim sum favorites, vegetarian options, and house-made fruit teas.
Traditional breakfast specialties will be served throughout the day, including fried dough sticks paired with warm soybean milk and Northern-style pastries.
The Numbers Behind the New Space
The new Staten Island restaurant will span 8,500 square feet and seat 200 guests, blending contemporary design with traditional Chinese influences. It’s built to flex across use cases — casual lunches, family dinners, celebrations, group gatherings, and convention visitors alike.
Why It Matters
Nan Xiang’s move is a clear read on where growth-minded, chef-driven concepts are heading: out of Manhattan and into high-traffic, underserved suburban and outer-borough retail corridors. Anchoring next to the Staten Island Mall puts a Michelin-recognized destination brand directly in the path of built-in foot traffic and a large local Chinese community — the kind of demand signal operators and site-selection teams increasingly prize over prime-rent city center addresses.
For restaurant owners and foodservice executives, there are practical takeaways here:
Craft as a moat. Nine straight years of Michelin recognition, an open kitchen, and hand-pleated dumplings make the product hard to commoditize. In a market crowded with fast-casual dumpling players, visible craftsmanship is the differentiator.
Format flexibility drives covers. A 200-seat, all-day format — breakfast through celebration dining — spreads dayparts and captures group, convention, and family occasions that boost average check and utilization.
Heritage sells. Tying the concept to Nan Xiang, the birthplace of the dish, gives the brand an authenticity story that travels as it expands to new communities.
For procurement directors and mall/retail developers, the signal is that authentic, destination-grade dining is now a legitimate anchor tenant strategy — not just an amenity.
What’s Next
The Staten Island location is slated to open in 2027. For updates, menus, and opening information, visit nanxiangxiaolongbao.com.
Watching how heritage restaurant brands scale into new markets? See how another operator is putting its expansion playbook to the test in our coverage of Chef & The Baker’s first licensed location, and explore how a Las Vegas resort is stacking Michelin recognition in our story on The Venetian Resort’s four Michelin-recognized restaurants.
Would you cross the borough for a proper soup dumpling? Tell us in the comments where you think the next great Xiao Long Bao destination should land.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine’s “Top 40 Under 40” for founding American Wholesale Floral. Politz is also the founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.