100-Year-Old Chinatown Spot With Curtained Booths, Far East Cafe, In Danger of Closing
SF s Chinatown has been, economically, one of the hardest hit neighborhoods in the pandemic, with no tourist foot traffic and businesses that say they were denied federal PPP loans. Now we re sad to learn that one of the longest-lived banquet restaurants in the neighborhood, Far East Cafe, is reportedly giving up the ghost after 100 years in business.
Chinatown s Wind Newspaper broke the news that Far East s last day will be New Year s Eve, December 31. I love Far East Cafe. I don’t want to give up, said owner Bill Lee. But I have no choice. We can’t afford to keep the restaurant up for running without any revenues from the business and resources from the City.
Sam Chen of Magical Ice Cream tried for a small business loan, but was denied. I do try like four times but I couldn t get it, says Chen.
Those across the street at New Age Camera tried for a loan. They were denied as well. Over here it is a disaster, says Ortiz.
Eva Lee of the Chinatown Merchants Association says city leaders need to help fight for these businesses by helping with grants and loans, or work to partner them with big companies. What do we want our city to look like? Are we going to be like a typical suburbia with just Targets and big stores left? Is that what we want? The fabric of our city is being torn apart right now, says Lee.
S.F. proposes $1.9 million in relief for Chinatown restaurants
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Shuttered businesses line Grant Avenue in S.F.’s Chinatown in August, months into the pandemic.Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle
San Francisco Supervisors Aaron Peskin and Sandra Lee Fewer introduced legislation during Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting that would pay Chinatown restaurants to cook meals for older adults and families living in single-room-occupancy hotels through Chinatown Community Development Center’s Feed and Fuel program.
“We’re witnessing the potential loss of one of the last intact Chinatowns in the United States . not only to the debilitating economic impacts of COVID, but to what I call the triple threat: COVID, the Central Subway delays that have been going on for years, as well as the fact that Chinatown was actually impacted earlier by COVID than the rest of the city,” Peskin said at the meeting.
S.F. Chinatown s oldest banquet restaurant Far East Cafe is closing after 100 years
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The exterior Far East Cafe, the oldest banquet restaurant in San Francisco Chinatown. It’s closing after 100 years in business.Yalonda M. James / The Chronicle 2019Show MoreShow Less
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Each chandelier is unique at Far East Cafe, one of San Francisco Chinatown’s last remaining banquet restaurants. It’s slated to close at the end of December.Vivian Johnson / Special to The Chronicle 2018Show MoreShow Less
Far East Cafe, one of San Francisco Chinatown’s oldest restaurants, is permanently closing at the end of the month.
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