Are you hungry for bao? Established by Washington residents Jason and Nancy Zhai, Dough Zone is coming to the south sound! The Dough Zone in Lacey will open on June 25, 2025, at 2480 Marvin Road NW, Ste D in Lacey.
“We’re excited to now grow further south in Washington with our Lacey location and continue connecting with more communities in our home state,” shares Nancy Yun, marketing manager for Dough Zone.
Authentic Dumpling House, Dough Zone, Started in Washington
Jason and Nancy opened the first Dough Zone in 2014 in Bellevue. Like many restaurants, it started out as mom-and-pop shop. Both from China, they wanted to share traditional meals from their homeland with their community. They spent years perfecting each recipe to ensure authentic tastes.
Nancy and Jason worked in the kitchen and served guests out front, along with family and friends who pitched in. “From the start, the concept focused on small portions and affordable pricing – designed to be a place people could enjoy every day, like a neighborhood diner, but with handmade dumplings,” shares Yun.
As traditional Chinese dishes started to gain popularity in the area, so did Dough Zone. The expanded south, into Seattle and Eastside. In 2021, Nancy and Jason began to expand outside Washington, starting with California, then in Oregon in 2022 and Texas in 2023. Since 2014, they have opened 26 more locations across four states.
“Our team saw unmet demand in other major markets where high-quality, affordable dumplings were harder to find,” shares Yun about why they expanded to other states at first. “Expanding to states like California, Oregon, and Texas allowed us to bring Dough Zone to new audiences who were actively seeking out this type of cuisine.”
Eleven years after that first bao was steamed, they are opening their first South Sound location in Thurston County. The Lacey Dough Zone will be their 28th location. “We’re excited to now grow further south in Washington with our Lacey location and continue connecting with more communities in our home state,” adds Yun. “Lacey represents an exciting opportunity for us to grow beyond our core markets in Seattle and the Eastside. We’ve seen increasing demand from customers in the South Sound area, and Lacey felt like the perfect next step – a vibrant, growing community with a strong dining scene. We’re excited to bring Dough Zone to a new audience and become part of the local fabric.”
The locations are not franchises, so each one is carefully watched over by Nancy and Jason, to ensure quality and uniformity. You will always get the same amazing food and service, no matter which one you go to.
Authentic Chinese Food in Thurston County
Dough Zone is bringing with them their tried-and-true secret recipes for that authentic Chinese food. As you drool over their menu before the opening, you may be wondering – dumpling, bao, Q-bao, what’s the difference? We got the scoop from Yun on that to help you be ready to order that first steaming, hearty dish on June 25!
A dumpling is any dish that is, at its most basic, stuffed dough. The dough is usually filled with meat, vegetables or other ingredients. It’s then steamed, boiled or pan-fried. “At Dough Zone, our most popular dumpling is the Xiao Long Bao, or soup dumpling, which is filled with savory broth and meat, steamed to perfection,” Yun shares.
So that means all bao are forms of dumplings. And the Q-Bao is Dough Zone’s name for bao, listed as a bun on their menu. “A bao is a type of dumpling made with a soft, fluffy dough,” Yun adds. “It’s typically larger than a traditional dumpling and can be either steamed or pan-fried. We offer both versions on our menu. Our pan-fried pork buns are filled with juicy pork, wrapped in fluffy dough, then steamed and pan-fried for a crispy bottom.”
If the Lacey location is your first time at a Dough Zone, Yun recommends the Xiao Long Bao – their most popular dumpling. The name comes from how the dumplings were traditionally steamed, in a little bamboo basket. Xiao, meaning “small,” Long, meaning “basket,” and Bao, meaning “bun.” “Dough Zone’s soup dumplings come in 3 traditional flavors and feature premium ingredients: pork, chicken and pork with crab meat,” share Yun. “Our chefs proudly use a secret traditional recipe to create the savory soupy filling inside these signature xiao long bao. By adding bone broth to seasoned moist Berkshire-Duroc pork, crab meat, and steaming, the jelly will liquefy into a broth and fill the traditional steamed bun with juiciness and savory goodness. A Chinese classic, beef stew noodle soup, is another customer favorite that is made with braised beef brisket.”
Be sure to drop by on June 25 and try some bao for yourself.
Dough Zone
2480 Marvin Road NW Ste D, Lacey
