Immigrants were reminded of the food and lives they left behind. But that’s still up in the air, she said.Inside the cavernous red-and-gold banquet hall in the heart of Chinatown in Manhattan, generations of Asian families toasted weddings, birthdays and graduations. She said the owner is searching for a smaller location in the neighborhood to hopefully have a “little mini Jing Fong” which could seat up to 50 people. Leo said the restaurant will probably close in May. All of these memories that we’ve had with each other and with the customers. “A lot of these employees have been here since the very beginning,” said Leo, who has worked at the restaurant for seven years. A satellite spot on the Upper West Side, which opened in 2017, is not affected by the changes, Leo said. Jing Fong opened in 1978, but moved to its current location in 1992. “Who is able to pay one year of bills with just three months of federal paycheck protection.” “The government really should step in, not just for Jing Fong, but for the restaurant industry as a whole,” Leo said. We’re trying so hard.”įormer server Liang Chen, 52, attends a rally to reopen Jing Fong on Thursday afternoon in Chinatown. We’ve been losing money every month since the pandemic started. We paid the real estate taxes portion of the rent. All the news saying we didn’t pay any of the rent is absolutely not true.
“We paid partial rent, the real estate taxes part of it. “We worked with the landlord,” said Claudia Leo, a spokeswoman for third-generation owner and manager Truman Lam. Jing Fong’s owner disputes the landlord’s no-rent claim. “It’s the only unionized restaurant in the neighborhood, so even if these workers are able to find other jobs during this pandemic, they will not have the same rights and protection they have now.” “Jing Fong brings in over 10,000 customers to Chinatown every week, so the loss of this dim sum hall is going to have a big economic impact on Chinatown as a whole,” Marte said. “There’s no financial reason to close if the landlord was willing to wait just a little longer for Jing Fong to be able to get back on its feet,” said Christopher Marte, who is running to represent the neighborhood on the City Council. The Chu family blamed inadequate federal, state and local support for workers and small businesses.įormer server John Chen, 60, attends a rally to reopen Jing Fong on Thursday afternoon in Chinatown.īut Jing Fong’s supporters said the landlord could be a little more patient. “The Chu family is doing the responsible thing by moving on and searching for a realistic tenant who can contribute to the community in a sustainable, dependable way.”Īccording to the Chu family, Jing Fong’s rent has remained the same since 1993, and the restaurant hasn’t made a payment in the last 12 months. “The owners of Jing Fong made the decision to leave the building,” said Eric Phillips, a Chu family spokesman. No business means no rent, and commercial real estate doesn’t work that way. But the Chu family said it is hurting, too. The Chu family said it has tried to work with the restaurant, even when the pandemic forced Jing Fong to close temporarily last year. The doors of the restaurant will close within weeks unless community leaders are able to find another owner who can meet the terms of the landlord, father and son developers Alex and Jonathan Chu. Jing Fong was forced to close its iconic dining room permanently on March 7, a decision that led to the loss of about 180 jobs. Employees Amanda Chan, left, and Yan Ling Dong enter a order at Jing Fong Saturday, Main Manhattan, New York.
0 kommentar(er)
