EPHRATA, Pa. (WHTM) — A new restaurant featuring Southeast Asian cuisine and sushi recently opened its doors in Ephrata last week.

The new Hills to Sea restaurant is owned and operated by Rita Nuam, her husband Christopher Minmin, and their partner Zar Zar Kyi. According to Nuam, she was born and raised in Myanmar (Burma) and then moved to the United States as a refugee back in 2010.

After relocating to the U.S., Nuam began to miss her home country’s cuisines, motivating her to begin cooking them for herself. Shortly after, she began offering her Burmese-style food and other Southeast Asian cuisines at the Lancaster Central Market.

“When I came to the US, there was no Burmese food, and that made me want to cook it with my own recipes,” Nuam explained. “I had worked in a Thai restaurant for years and I began to feel confident in my cooking.”

After about seven months with a stand at the Lancaster Central Market and numerous customers encouraging Nuam to open a brick-and-mortar restaurant, she finally decided to give it a shot.

“A lot of my customers would ask me ‘when are you going to open a restaurant,’ and they just kept asking, so it made me want to open a restaurant location,” Nuam said.

On May 1, 2023, the owners and partners of Hills to Sea acquired a space on 433 North Reading Road in Ephrata, which is capable of seating approximately 80 guests. According to Nuam, they took about three weeks to renovate and decorate the new establishment before holding their official grand opening on Monday, May 22.

The new Hills to Sea restaurant has an extensive menu and features a sushi bar that is capable of seating between 7-8 guests. If you are interested in placing an order from Hills to Sea or just want to check out their menu, you can click here.

It should be noted that Hills to Sea also offers vegan and gluten-free menu options as well.

The new Hills to Sea restaurant’s hours of operation are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

In celebration of its recent grand opening, Hills to Sea is offering a 10% discount on its dining menu until June 30.

“I am excited but also still a little nervous [to be open]. It’s our first time doing this,” Nuam added. “I am just happy to have this opportunity.”