Gene’s Chinese Flatbread Cafe Is Opening a Third Location in Westford

The hand-pulled noodle shop is less than a mile from the now-closed, original location in Chelmsford.


Gene Wu

Gene Wu. / Photo by Toan Trinh for ‘Cheap Eats in Boston From A-Z-‘

UPDATE, December 25, 9 am: Is Chinese food your dinner plan? Gene’s Westfield location opens today.

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A noodle shop with a devoted following of food fans is looking to open a third location in the Boston suburbs. Gene’s Chinese Flatbread Cafe, which also has a location on the edge of Chinatown, is headed for Westford by the end of this year.

A tipster in the Friends of Boston’s Hidden Restaurants Facebook page shared the news, citing Gene Wu himself. The proprietor came to the Boston area from Xi’an, China, to study chemistry, but he decided to open his own restaurant in 2011. The first Gene’s was in Chelmsford, but it closed and relocated to Woburn. The location he is seeking is less than a mile from the original, on Route 110 (Littleton Road).

An employee reached at the Westford Town Offices this morning confirmed that Gene Wu is seeking the necessary permitting, and is hoping to open “very soon.” She did not have public documents on file to share at this time. She confirmed the location Wu is seeking is Unit A in a strip mall plaza, which was most recently Sandrino’s Pizza.

Gene’s is highly regarded for hand-pulled, Chinese-style noodles, thick and chewy with chili oil, cilantro, and garlic, or cumin-scented lamb. The authentic bowl is properly consumed at one of his no-nonsense storefronts.

“We try very hard to make them fresh,” Wu told Boston in 2014. “They are made with flour, so they will stick together if you don’t eat it right away or mix it up. Freshest is best.”

Gastronomes like chef and TV star Alton Brown have heeded this advice and visited Gene’s. Soon, fans who miss his original Chemlsford location won’t have to travel very far to get their fix.

Gene’s Flatbread Cafe, coming soon to 175 Littleton Rd., Unit A, Westford; 466 Main St., Woburn, 781-938-6888, 86 Bedford St., Boston, 617-482-1888, genescafe.com.