The owner of Sichuan Kitchen plans to open a Sichuan-style hot pot restaurant in downtown Portland this winter.

Qi Shen, a native of China’s Sichuan province, aims to launch Tuan Yuan Hotpot by early March. The restaurant seats about 80 and will be located at 29 Forest Ave., formerly home of art gallery Able Baker Contemporary.

Before the pandemic, Shen featured hot pot as an occasional special at Portland restaurant Sichuan Kitchen — using portable induction burners at the dining room tables — and got good feedback from her customers. Shen said she expects people will find the concept especially appealing during Maine’s cold winters.

“The hot pot is a different dining style that we don’t have here. It’s very popular in Asian countries,” Shen said, noting how it’s similar to Japanese shabu-shabu and Korean jjigae.

The concept centers around a simmering pot of broth set on built-in induction burners at tables in the dining room. Customers cook their selection of thinly sliced meats, seafood, plant-based proteins and vegetables by dipping them into the broth.

Shen said Tuan Yuan will offer different kinds of broth, including a Sichuan-style hot, spicy and numbing broth; a mild bone broth; a tomato-based broth; and a kimchi broth as well. The restaurant’s bar will serve beer, wine and sake.

Tuan Yuan will be open Monday through Friday for dinner from 4-11:30 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday for lunch and dinner from 11:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.