Coming out of a yearlong hiatus, Koy Chinese and Sushi in Kyle is “busier every day,” according to owner Frank Lai.
Having just reached 10 years of business, Lai began Koy in 2011 when the population of Kyle was less than half of what it is now, according to the U.S. census. The rapid growth of Hays County and the city in general sparked a desire to start his own business.“I saw that Kyle was growing with the hospital coming in, booming like crazy,” Lai said.
When he opened 10 years ago, he had a smaller staff of around 10 people. His business grew steadily, but when the pandemic hit, he had to shut down indoor dining. Lai said he lost about half his staff and is still struggling to hire people.
However, while indoor dining was shut down, the business remained afloat due to pickup orders and third-party delivery services.
