Tammy Wong, owner of Rainbow Chinese at 2739 Nicollet Avenue, stood for a portrait in her restaurant. The restaurant is reopening its dining room more than three years after the pandemic-related closure. (Isaac Hale, Special to the Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

More than three years after it joined every other Minnesota restaurant in shuttering its dining room due to the state-mandated shutdown for COVID-19, Rainbow Chinese Restaurant is finally joining those that reopened.

As much as the news is a boon to the many regulars and fans of the 36-year-old restaurant, it's even more momentous to its owner and chef, Tammy Wong.

"It's like a brand-new opening," Wong said. "I feel like I'm going to have a baby."

Indeed, much is new about this Eat Street stalwart. A fresh coat of paint is only the start. Wong has updated parts of the interior with the help of a grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The work included renovating a second-floor event space that may hold future pop-ups by guest chefs. There's an all-new front-of-house staff, a new drink program by cocktail maestro Marco Zappia, and a curtailed menu with a selection of classic dishes.

The hours are snug for now, too. Just Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 4 to 9 p.m. Reservations, capped at parties of six, are recommended (they're available online here). There also will be limited space for walk-ins.

The hours will grow in time.

"One of the things a friend, she consults, was saying, was 'Tammy, it's overwhelming, but it's like, think about eating a small bite of the elephant,' " Wong laughed. "We will get there."

Rainbow hosted a few pop-ups earlier this year to test the waters, including a sit-down dinner for Lunar New Year. Otherwise, only takeout was available — and it will continue to be available Wednesdays through Sundays.

The new team launched dinner service quietly last week for a soft opening. Afterward, Wong checked in with them, "and they said they're ready."

Wong explained the extra-long closure had to do with being "under-resourced and underfunded" since the pandemic, especially when it came to finding enough staff to make the place run. But as time went on, "People have been yanking the pull on the door, wanting to come in and eat at the restaurant," she said.

She's decided it's time to open the doors to them. "Sometimes it's easier to call it quits, but I like to be around and be supportive so that other small businesses in our neighborhood can continue to thrive."

"We want to bring people back to our community," Wong added. "It's just not easy after the unrest situation in the heart of our neighborhood. We want people to not feel that it's a scary place to come, which can be intimidating. We are working on making the restaurant feel good and look good, so that when people come back, it feels welcoming."

Rainbow, 2739 Nicollet Av., Mpls., rainbowrestaurant.com