Celebrated chef Peter Chang is bringing his renowned Szechuan and Hubei cooking to Crystal City near Amazon’s headquarters.

The 2022 James Beard Award finalist is opening his newest restaurant, to be called NiHao Arlington, later this year or in early 2024, co-owner Lydia Chang — Peter’s daughter — tells DCist/WAMU.

It’s moving into 1550 Crystal Drive, Chang says, nestled near buzzy bakery Mah-Ze-Dahr, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema and Amazon Fresh grocery store — which is also not far from Amazon’s existing offices and forthcoming new headquarters building, Metropolitan Park, set to open later this year.

This will mark the Changs’ second Arlington location and 15th restaurant overall. It’s also a continuation of a recent expansion that has seen Chang announce or open five locations in the past several months, including the acclaimed Chang Chang in Dupont Circle this past fall.

They’ve also recently opened a dining room in Columbia, Maryland and expect to open Dim Sum by Peter Chang in Baltimore this spring. Early this month, the Changs also reopened their first Charm City restaurant, the original location of NiHao, with a new co-owner and new menu.

NiHao Arlington will be similar to the one in Baltimore, which has always had a modern approach to Szechuan cuisine. But it will also be a bit of a return to the “originals and classics” while showcasing the Szechuan cooking that made her father famed in the D.C. region, Lydia Chang says.

“We want to make it an introduction of Chinese cuisine,” Lydia says. “So it’s a little bit new, but it’s not new in that we’ve never done it before. So, it’s a combination.” 

They are excited about this particular spot due to the continuing development of the neighborhood brought on by Amazon’s decision to put a headquarters there, as well as a new tech-focused Virginia Tech campus scheduled to open next year just over the Arlington border in Alexandria, Lydia says.

“It’s a great location because there’s an increased demand for quality food from college students and young professionals,” she says.

Throughout the 1980s and ‘90s, Peter Chang was one of the most well-known chefs in China. In 2001, he moved to the United States with his family to fulfill a two-year contract to serve as the chef to the Chinese ambassador.

It was near the end of that contract when he, his wife Lisa (a decorated pastry chef in her own right), and his young daughter secretly fled the embassy to begin a new life in America.

Chang took a job as a chef at an unassuming Fairfax storefront while trying to keep a low profile. But he soon gained a following for his authentic cooking and began to move from local restaurant to restaurant in an effort to keep a low profile.

He opened his own restaurant in 2011 in Charlottesville, Virginia. Unsurprisingly, it was a hit, and, more locations in Williamsburg, Fredericksburg, and other Virginia locations followed.

Chang’s first D.C.-area restaurant opened in 2015 in Arlington and has continued to be popular, which is why the family decided to open a second location in the county, Lydia says. They have since opened restaurants across the D.C. region including in Q by Peter Chang in Bethesda, Mama Chang in Fairfax, and a Peter Chang in Rockville. And there’s likely more coming.

“We are going to open more Peter Changs [in]… neighborhoods just like Arlington,” Lydia says. “McLean, Reston, Sterling… it’s all a possibility.”

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect the number of restaurants in the Changs’ portfolio. This will be their 15th restaurant.