How a Teacher from China Became the Owner of a Growing Asian Restaurant

You may have visited a Fulin’s restaurant, as there are 12 across Tennessee and Alabama, but you may not know the story behind this growing Asian restaurant.

It’s a story of perseverance, determination and will. As a teacher in the Fujian Province on the coast of the South China Sea in the late 1980s, David Lin became disillusioned and disheartened  after the Chinese government’s forceful crackdown on the student-led, pro-democracy Tiananmen Square protests.

Seeking opportunity and freedom, he legally immigrated to the United States in 1993, settling in New York. He found work in Chinese and Italian restaurants

Seeking the freedoms and opportunities of America, Lin legally immigrated to the United States in 1993, settling in New York City. There, he found work in Chinese and Italian restaurants, washing dishes and helping in the kitchen while learning as much as he could about cooking, cuisine, serving customers and operating a restaurant.

In 1999, Lin moved from the hubbub of New York to the more family-friendly Nashville area, where he got a job as a server in a Chinese buffet. His family joined him in the U.S. in 2000. Afterwards, Lin managed a number of New Chinese Buffet and Grill stores across the Middle Tennessee area.

In November 2004, GL Restaurant Management opened the first Fulin’s Asian Cuisine in the Shoppes of Brentwood with the vision of offering high quality authentic Chinese food coupled with excellent service. The restaurant was immediately successful, and the second Fulin’s opened a year later in Mt. Juliet. In quick succession, the company opened additional Fulin’s Asian Cuisine restaurants in Hendersonville, Murfreesboro, Decatur (AL), Spring Hill, Cleveland (TN), Madison (AL), Knoxville and Franklin.

To learn more about the restaurant, view their full menu or place an order, visit them online at fulins.com/brentwood, or simply stop in during business hours to enjoy a delicious lunch or dinner! Fulin’s Asian Cuisine in Brentwood is open 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.