A Chinese couple in Toronto has opened a restaurant for 38 years! Special lobster starts! Suddenly suffering from a heart attack, the 2nd daughter decided to take over
There's a restaurant in Toronto that's not big, but it's been open for 46 years, and it's one of the oldest restaurants in town.
The restaurant, Yueh Tung Restaurant, is a Hakka restaurant that opened in 1978 and was transferred to a new immigrant couple eight years later. The Chinese couple has experienced twists and turns in the course of running the restaurant for 38 years. The man suddenly fell ill, and the rent skyrocketed by 10,000 Canadian dollars, and he could barely sustain it, and now the two daughters have decided to take over the restaurant and inherit the family business. And it was not easy for the two girls to make a decision.
Toronto Life interviewed and reported on their story, so let's take a look.
Michael Liu and his wife, Mei Wang, immigrated to Toronto in 1981 and never thought of opening a restaurant. And fate made them husband and wife restaurateurs.
Mr. Liu didn't even know how to cook before. When he arrived in Toronto, he began working on the assembly line at the Bombardier factory, while his wife worked as a clerk in a hospital. One day in 1986, they took their children to a Chinese seafood restaurant for dinner, and interestingly, the owner said to Mr. Liu, "I think you can open a good restaurant, and I want to sell the restaurant to you." ”
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Mr. Liu said that more than 40 years later, he still did not understand why the former restaurateur had so much confidence in him, whom he did not know.
Despite not having any experience in the restaurant industry, the couple decided to give the restaurant a try because Mr. Liu had never liked working for others and wanted to be his own boss. They had the lowest bid, but the owner still chose to sell the shop to them, and he promised to stay and teach them how to run the eastern part of Guangdong.
So Mr. Liu took a $50,000 loan from the bank and accepted this life-changing challenge. At that time, they had two children under the age of 10, and Ms. Wang was eight months pregnant, so they were very nervous.
At that time, the restaurant only had Cantonese food on its menu, and business was poor. In order to attract business, the couple decided to sell lobsters at ultra-low prices. Then the chili chicken was also added to the menu. As a result, these 2 dishes stole the limelight and soon became the restaurant's signature dish.
Mr. Liu made the chili chicken boneless, and the dish was very popular because the business crowd in the city center was busy and didn't want to gnaw on the bones. He would also stand in front of the store and hand out free samples to entice people into the store. It didn't take long for the restaurant to become famous among the nearby office staff and even the local police.
Business at the restaurant is getting better, and the couple wants to bring more of their hometown cuisine to Toronto, so they keep adding new dishes to the menu.
In order to start his own business, Mr. Liu basically lives in a restaurant and works at least 12 hours a day. Sometimes, he would even sleep upstairs without coming home. Even at Christmas, when the children open their presents, he immediately goes back to the restaurant to open the shop.
And Ms. Wang didn't stop, her husband was in charge of the kitchen, and she was in charge of everything else, such as paying bills and managing employees. In addition to running the restaurant, the couple also has to take care of their five children, make sure they all have a hot lunch, and drive the children around.
Ms. Wang said that at the time, the two eldest children, Amy and Tracy, had already started to help wash dishes and take out the trash. The 2 youngest daughters, Jeanette and Joanna, basically grew up in restaurants. They play hide-and-seek and nap in their chairs during lunch rush.
"My fondest memories are in 1992 and 1993, when Toronto won the World Series. The Blue Jays players all came to the restaurant after the game, and Roberto Alomar and Roger Cedeño knew their families well and even helped to babysit them.
Jeanette and Joanna started helping out in the store when they were in high school. Do some reception and front desk work, take bills and change for customers, etc.
But their mother said she never wanted her children to take over the restaurant. Because that's not her dream. "I've always wanted my daughters to find their own path – preferably as a doctor or lawyer," Ms. Wang said. Because running a restaurant is hard, the working hours are long and stressful. My husband and I did this because we had to provide for our family, but I wanted life to be easier for my children. ”
In 2010, the family suffered an unexpected change. Because Mr. Wang suddenly had a heart attack, everything started to fall apart.
Because he can't work, the quality of the food in the restaurant is different. Joanna had just graduated from college at the time and decided to take over the kitchen while her father recovered.
However, the chefs were not happy with the young girl. She tried to change everything when she first went to the kitchen, but she didn't know much about the kitchen. Joanna described the situation as a pressure cooker: employees didn't want to listen to her, and she had no experience at all.
Business was getting worse day by day, and Jeanette said that during that time she also helped out at the restaurant, but the sisters would quarrel and scold each other because of disagreements, but they would have to smirk whenever a customer walked by.
Jeanette says she later focused on marketing. Because restaurants need to make changes quickly to stay afloat, such as promoting them in the media. Her efforts played a role, and the restaurant had a tense but uneventful year.
Mr. Wang was also better at that time, he returned to the restaurant and "kicked his daughter out" of the kitchen.
He criticizes Joanna for being self-righteous and forcibly stops letting her run things. Joanna decided to go to culinary school.
The hard work paid off, and in 2012, she earned her culinary diploma from George Brown. But during that time, Mr. Wang fell ill again, this time with a stroke, and was completely unable to move.
Joanna had to step in again to work in the restaurant. But this time, she learned more about managing the kitchen. But her new approach – recipes, standardization, measurement...... It's a big adjustment for the staff, as they're used to the old-fashioned way of cooking.
In 2014, Jeanette returned to Toronto after a year of working overseas, and the sisters decided to work together. Jeanette takes over the front room of the restaurant.
After taking over the restaurant, they realized that their father had done the work of four people in one person before.
The kitchen team didn't stop, and the entire kitchen team almost left en masse.
At that time, the old chef was retired, and the new chef from China was a bit machismo, and the sisters were "fried" at that time.
Over time, the kitchen adapted to Joanna's new routines, and Jeanette got along well with her. They learned to work as a team.
Jeanette said there is a saying in Mandarin called "two-handed strike," which means that you need two hands to applaud. This sentence has also become the motto of Yuedong Restaurant,
Thanks to the sisters' efforts, the restaurant is gradually on the right track. Business has improved and the quality of food has improved dramatically. By this time, their dad was much better, his mobility was greatly restored, and he was able to return to the dining room to supervise the kitchen and chat with the regulars.
The sisters finally found a good balance. Things are all getting better.
However, at this time, the epidemic came.
Joanna said that these four years have been dark. Figuring out online orders and deliveries during the pandemic was complicated, and they had to keep their businesses running, keep their employees safe, and deal with the losses of supply chain issues.
Just when they finally got through the epidemic and just once stood on their feet, in 2023, their father suffered another stroke.
"We're only selling a third of what we used to be, but we're going up on costs. Restaurant rents skyrocketed by $10,000, and everything seemed to be difficult. ”
But the sisters didn't give up.
"A lot of people may think we're lucky because our parents gave us a restaurant, but it's not easy. Our vision is to continue to run this restaurant no matter how difficult it is, respecting the business of our parents. We know it's an expression of love, and we don't want to mess it up. If we can grow the business, we will be able to take care of the whole team, our families and our parents. ”
Joanna said that she is grateful to have her sister to rely on when she is going through difficult times. Working with a family can be tough, but she knows that a family can always be there through thick and thin. While running a restaurant can get tough, it's worth fighting for when the whole family has a common goal.
Perhaps it is precisely because of the family bonds screwed with love that despite the skyrocketing costs such as rent, the restaurant's profits began to grow slowly after the epidemic.
Jeanette is very happy, she says, "This restaurant is the brainchild of our parents. They created something so special that they introduced our culture to Toronto's food scene. We are proud to carry on this tradition, and we want to make our parents proud as well.
She added, "Dad is also very happy that we can continue to operate." Even though he joked that he didn't want us to take over the restaurant and didn't want us to work so hard, he loved coming to the restaurant. Even after health problems, this is where he is happiest. ”
Joanna says, "My mum loves restaurants, too. The other day she asked me if she would be able to work on Saturday nights when she officially retired. Because after retirement, she can't see customers and employees, and she will be bored. ”
It seems that Mr. Liu and Ms. Wang can now safely hand over the keys to the restaurant to the children.
"Maybe one day our kids will decide to take over the restaurant, and maybe they can run it better." ”
This is the power of love, the bond of family.
To all those who are struggling in Canada, the difficulties will always pass, there is love and hope, come on!