Honey Pig Cafe, an unassuming new restaurant with big plans, quietly debuted over the summer in Lone Tree.

“We just wanted to get the doors open as soon as possible,” James Choi, director of operations for One Concept Restaurant Group, told Colorado Community Media. “Just to get the interest out there to the locals so that when we do reopen with the new look and everything, people are already aware of our existence.”

Honey Pig Cafe, a subsidiary of the Greenwood Village-based One Concept Restaurant Group, occupies the 3,000-square-foot space in Lincoln Hills Shopping Center that was formerly home to Jasmine Cafe. It sports a modest menu featuring Thai and Chinese cuisine as well as a sampling of beer, wine and whiskey.

In an effort to keep quality consistently high and each dish “incredible,” the menu is purposefully “pretty simple,” said Honey Pig’s manager Ryan Hua. So is the establishment’s recently repainted, but otherwise unadorned, interior.

But not for long — both the interior and the menu are set to change, Choi said.

Drawings for the planned dining room renovations show the addition of a full bar, dramatic lighting and more booths, plus the removal of the superfluous sushi counter. The eatery will need to close briefly for the remodel, which should start in a few months, according to Choi.

In the meantime, the restaurant group’s chefs are working on an array of dishes that employ flavors and techniques used in China but are not seen as often in the United States. The intention is for the revamped Honey Pig Cafe to reopen a full authentic menu — with items like mapo tofu, twice-cooked pork, szechuan chicken and dim sum — in addition to the current menu which has familiar favorites like sesame chicken, fried rice and lo mein.

“The overall goal, and we’ve already kind of started it through our specials menu, is introducing the locals to more authentic Chinese,” Choi said.

Chinese American food tends to be sweeter, less spicy and generally easier on the palate than traditional fare from China, which often has more heat or just uses certain spices to “power the flavors” of a dish, he said.

While One Concept Restaurant Group started with a focus on sushi, including the swanky Makizushico in Littleton, it has expanded to bubble tea, poke and a variety of Asian cuisines. Its adventure in authentic Chinese food started just over a year ago, Choi said, when the group purchased Spicy Basil Asian Grill in Denver and then brought chefs from outside of Colorado to teach the staff to cook more traditionally. Now, those chefs also work at Honey Pig Cafe.

“We felt like this was a good time, now that people enjoy Chinese foods, to let them know really what the people in China are eating,” Choi said.

A second Honey Pig Cafe, this one slated for Broomfield, is currently in the works as well.

If you’re not yet familiar with this newest eatery, Choi isn’t surprised. They’re holding off on marketing Honey Pig until the Lone Tree venue’s interior has been renovated. Nevertheless, people are discovering this low-key spot on their own or through social media.

“We’ve gotten a lot of word of mouth … a lot of community helping out.”