"We will miss the customers the most."
After almost 50 years, a Cantonese restaurant in Richmond will be serving its last dish at the end of the month.
But what is most heartbreaking for the owners is having to say goodbye to their customers, who have become their extended family for 48 years.
Danny's WunTun Restaurant in Ironwood Plaza will be closing on Oct. 27, something that owner Lawrence Cheung, his father Danny Cheung and sister Kat Cheung said has been coming for a while.
The Cheung family has served Cantonese food for 48 years. Their restaurant, originally called Canton WunTun House, was one of the first wonton spots in Richmond. It officially opened in 1977 in a small strip mall called Times Square on No. 3 Road.
In 1998, the restaurant moved to Ironwood due to development in the city centre area, explained Danny.
Danny and his late wife Joyce emigrated from Hong Kong to Toronto in the early 1970s before permanently calling Richmond home.
In 2019, Joyce, who is remembered for her sense of humour, and her compassion and commitment to hospitality, passed away after a stroke. Messages of condolences poured in from the community remembering her as a wonderful woman.
"It was a tough time, but the community showed up and we had so much support from everyone in Richmond and as far as Surrey coming in," said Danny.
Then, COVID-19 hit.
During the pandemic, they had new and old customers who still ordered takeout from them during social distancing restrictions, Lawrence said, allowing them to survive until restaurants were allowed to have walk-in customers again.
"As the years pass, the cost of rent, wages, and inventory has gone up -- the three biggest things in any business," said Lawrence.
"As a restaurant owner, you can't keep on raising your prices every two months because of market fluctuations."
But, as more workers transitioned to hybrid, if not full-time remote work, the restaurant saw a decrease in people coming in.
"It's not like we're paying less for rent, if anything, it has increased."
Danny then retired in 2022 and passed the responsibilities to his son Lawrence and older daughter Linda.
"But what has kept us going is literally the community. The multi-generational families that continuously support and visit our family restaurant," said Lawrence.
Kat added they have had regular customers for so long, that there is a shelf with designated mugs for said customer and a specific Chinese wok they use for a particular family, who have significant food allergies.
However, in 2023, Linda passed away due to complications of cervical cancer, leaving the restaurant management to Lawrence and Kat.
In the past year, it became clear to the Cheung family it was time to take a step back and focus on healing and taking care of their own well-being.
Memories at Danny's WunTun Restaurant
From watching their parents in the restaurant business to growing up and "paying their dues" as teenagers in the restaurant, Lawrence said the customers have always been at the forefront of the minds of every member of the Cheung family.
"From when my parents started, to us growing up in the restaurant business, they had a lot of customers back in the day watch me and my sisters grow up," said Lawrence.
"They still remember me being that kid sitting in the corner, studying and watching this small 10-inch screen TV. They remember my sisters, being in a cardboard box in the corner of the restaurant when our mom couldn't afford a babysitter."
As the youngest daughter of the family, Kat said it was an "untold request" for all the siblings to work at the restaurant on weekends.
"You just show up and work, so all three of us did that as did I when I started Grade 10," said Kat.
All three siblings would spend their time together at the restaurant and it became the "only chance we got to hang out as a family," she added.
"Now, when I come to drop in, customers would see me and ask how I've been and it's just so nostalgic. They really are family to us."
As Danny's WunTun Restaurant counts down its final operating weeks, the Cheung family is hoping to be able to say goodbye and reminisce with customers, old and new.
"The community is our family, and we couldn't have made it this far if it wasn't for them," said the Cheung family.
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