photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

The Lawrence Olive Garden restaurant at 21s and Iowa streets is pictured on Jan. 15, 2026.

News and notes from around town that may stretch your elastic waistband, if you let them.

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Lawrence now has a date for its entrance into the world of unlimited soup, salad and breadsticks. Olive Garden plans to open its Lawrence restaurant at 11 a.m. on Feb. 2, the company has announced.

The Italian chain restaurant is located at the northeast corner of 21st and Iowa streets, putting it across the street from the new Dillions grocery store. Like the grocery store, Olive Garden is part of the new KU development known as The Crossing.

Olive Garden becomes the third business to locate in The Crossing, joining Dillons and Truity Credit Union. More are likely on the way, as KU has set aside multiple lots in The Crossing, as it attempts to make KU’s West Campus a mix of retail, office and residential development. The KU Endowment Association is leading the project and KU leaders are backing the effort because they believe the mixed use development will attract technology, biomedical and other businesses that want to have a connection with KU researchers and students.

I’ve heard several deals are in the works for additional restaurants and other businesses to locate at The Crossing. That’s why there is actually a “For Lease” sign in front of the brand new Olive Garden building along Iowa Street. The sign isn’t advertising the Olive Garden building, but rather is advertising the two vacant lots that exist between the Olive Garden and Truity Credit Union buildings. Those sites are likely prime for restaurant uses — a marketing brochure has highlighted their suitability for drive-thru fast food and coffee shops.

There are even more lots available on the west side of Iowa Street, closer to the Dillons store. There also are plenty of signs that the property is getting a lot of interest from restaurants, but I don’t yet have any names to report.

However, a brochure used by a Kansas City-based commercial real estate company that is marketing the development provides some solid clues. A site plan included in that brochure shows room for six small restaurants or food establishments to locate along the northeast edge of the new parking lot that serves the Dillons store. That would put the businesses basically near the southeast corner of the 21st and Iowa Street intersection.

The brochure further lists that three companies have either signed a lease or are the negotiation stage of signing an agreement to locate at the site. Those include a yogurt/smoothie shop, a national chain sandwich/fast casual restaurant and another fast casual restaurant that currently doesn’t have a presence in Lawrence, according to the brochure.

The brochure also shows another chunk of ground near the northwest corner of the Dillons parking lot that could be used for retail or restaurant uses. That site, which is farther away from Iowa Street, appears to be about the same size as the site that will house the six restaurants/food establishments at the southeast corner of 21st and Iowa streets. So, theoritically, the new Dillons store could be surrounded by about a dozen new businesses, although it is also possible the site on the northwest corner of the parking lot is filled by one or two larger footprint businesses.

We’ll have to be patient, though, to see exactly what businesses land at The Crossing. That’s because the development is unusual because the businesses don’t have to file any development plans with Lawrence City Hall. Due to the land’s connection to the KU campus, any future businesses would go through a largely private development process overseen by the Endowment Association.

But I will keep my ears out and let you know when I hear more. Or, if you hear a rumor, let me know. Such a tip was my Valentine’s Day present last year. That’s when I received a tip that Olive Garden was locating on the site. With that information in hand, I was able to confirm that Olive Garden indeed was seeking contractors to build a Lawrence restaurant.

That was news a long time in the making, as I had covered an effort in the early 2000s for Olive Garden to locate farther south on Iowa Street. The restaurant explored the option a couple of times, but never got very far in winning approval through the city’s development process. One of the proposals had sought financial incentives from the City of Lawrence, which caused several locally-owned restaurants to oppose the project.

This latest version of the Olive Garden will be receiving some financial incentives to locate on the site, but not directly from Lawrence City Hall. Rather the city approved a special community improvement taxing district for the entire Crossing development, which happened before any specific tenants were known. That special taxing district requires businesses in The Crossing development to charge an extra 1.5% sales tax. The money from that tax — estimated to be a little more than $14 million over the next 22 years — will partially reimburse the KU Endowment entity for its expenses to build parking, streets, utility lines and other infrastructure that serves the new development.

As for the Olive Garden itself, I’m assuming everyone understands what the restaurant is about. It is the largest Italian chain restaurant in the nation, and one of its longtime offerings has been unlimited soup, salad and breadsticks, which many a diner can attest creates a nice, soft landing for an entree of chicken parmigiana, shrimp carbonara, or lasagna, which are a few of the many classic Italian-American dishes on the restaurant’s menu.

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photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

The China Star Buffet Restaurant on south Iowa Street is pictured on Jan. 15, 2026.

Unlimited baskets of breadsticks certainly is a sound strategy to fill you up, although it can create a little bit of guilt watching the wait staff’s legs turn to rubber after hour number of four of restocking trips.

Perhaps that’s why all-you-can-eat buffets were created. Whatever the case, Lawrence is back in the buffet business in a big way.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

The China Star Buffet, pictured on Jan. 15, 2026, offers multiple buffet options.

The China Star Buffet recently opened on south Iowa Street in a spot just north of the 31st and Iowa street intersection. Some of you may remember the location, 3050 Iowa Street, as the former home of Torchy’s Tacos, or others of you might remember its original tenant, Longhorn Steakhouse.

I reported in September that the buffet was coming to town, but didn’t have a lot of information about the company. I still don’t have a lot of information about the company. The internet shows other restaurants in other cities named China Star, but I’m not certain that they are affiliated.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

A buffet plate from the China Star Buffet is pictured on Jan. 15, 2026.

An attempt to talk to the manager at the Lawrence location wasn’t successful on Thursday, but I can report some basics after visiting the location. The all-you-can-eat buffet — about $16 for lunch — actually is four separate buffets. There is a hibachi buffet — the type where you pile raw ingredients on a plate and turn it over to the kitchen to cook on a large flat top — a sushi buffet, a dessert buffet, and of course, what you would think of as a traditional Chinese-American buffet.

That last one is the largest and includes dishes like General Tso’s chicken, beef and broccoli, crab rangoons, egg rolls, a variety of rices, and noodles. But the buffet also had quite a bit of seafood, both in terms of shrimp and fish, and had a few American offerings, such as fried chicken and French fries.

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Lastly, readers are curious when Q39 BBQ will open its Lawrence location in downtown. The Kansas City-based restaurant hasn’t yet announced an opening date, but it has begun to hire staff for the restaurant. That is usually a sign that a restaurant is about a month away from opening.

In case you have forgotten, Q39 — known for its brisket and other competition-style barbecue plates — is locating in a portion of the former Journal-World printing plant, just south of Sixth and New Hampshire streets.