Longtime Wichita restaurant making big changes as owner heads into ‘semi-retirement’
.jpg "Big changes are happening at Cafe Asia as its owner plans a semi-retirement.")
When owners of a longtime restaurant decide it’s time to retire, as fans of Hong Kong Restaurant learned late last year, diners have to prepare to say goodbye to some of their favorite dishes.
But what about when they plan to semi-retire?
That’s what’s happening at Cafe Asia, the restaurant at 6546 E Central that Yook Gan has run since 2000. Although she doesn’t plan to close her restaurant all together, at the end of April, she will close down the dining room and turn Cafe Asia into a carryout-only place.
“We’ve been open here almost 19 years this year,” she said. “It’s a long time. The last few years have been so busy, and it’s getting so old.”
Gan said she’s also had trouble finding good help. Many of her longtime employees are about to graduate from high school or college, and she doesn’t want to have to try to replace them.
Starting in May, she said, she’ll make the dining room available for private events. She’ll also continue catering.
Gan still has a lease on the space, she said, but she doesn’t know if she’ll renew it. She’s decided to keep the building “until I can’t do it.”
Gan let her longtime customers know about her semi-retirement plans on Facebook earlier this month. She told customers that the restaurant also will close for a period later this year so she can take a “long-awaited vacation.”
Cafe Asia, which is tucked into the corner of Normandie Village, is know for its Chinese and Malaysian food, and fans particularly love its salt and pepper chicken, its Char Kuew Teow (stir fried flat noodles) and its roti (a Malaysian pan fried bread served with curry sauce.)
For now, hours at Cafe Asia are 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays; 4:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays; and 4:30 to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
This story was originally published January 15, 2019 at 10:48 AM.
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