Half-century-old Chinese restaurant bids 'thank you and farewell'

Hours before Won Ton House opened for the last time Saturday, Thomas Tang cracked open a fortune cookie.

The tiny paper scroll told him to give a hug to someone who needed it more than he did.

"I want to hug all my customers," Tang said. "But they might not need a hug as much as I do."

Tang is the owner of Won Ton House at the corner of Wellington Street W. and Warren Avenue. In the early 1970s, his parents opened the restaurant at a different location, further west, where Tang helped out when he was in high school.

"He was bringing something new in Chinese cuisine to the community and wasn't too sure if it would be successful," Tang said of his father.

"He purchased a diner and during the morning, [would] serve breakfast [and] in the evening would switch to Chinese food."

Tang opened the restaurant's doors for the last time on Saturday. (Guy Quenneville/CBC)

That Richmond Road building burned down in the early 1970s, prompting Won Ton House's move to its current storied location in Wellington West, where Tang has been in charge for many years. (His parents died in 2004 and 2017.)

Faced with diminished customer traffic since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and finding it hard to recruit staff, Tang brought the family business to a permanent close on Saturday.

Job vacancies have been on the decline, with 815,295 vacant positions as of March 2023 across Canada, the lowest since July 2021, according to Statistics Canada.

But in the second quarter of 2023, the proportion of businesses expecting labour shortages to be an obstacle over the following three months increased slightly to 31.1 per cent.

"I felt like I disappointed them," Tang said of his late parents. "I want to keep it going. But unfortunately, I cannot do it."

One customer took home wall fixture

Customers have been grieving the loss of Won Ton House in various ways.

Many sent in greeting cards that Tang displayed at the restaurant's entrance, beneath a sign saying "Thank you and farewell."

One customer grabbed a stone fish ornament from the wall to have as a keepsake, Tang said.

Still another sent him a copy of a 1970s restaurant review book featuring a glowing report about Won Ton House's food — while also describing the decor back then as "nil."

One customer gave Tang a 1970s review book containing a capsule report on Won Ton House. (Guy Quenneville/CBC)

A teary-eyed David Cuddy dropped by Saturday to say goodbye in person, sharing a story about he and his wife's first dinner at Won Ton House in 1980.

It was the night they learned their offer on a nearby house had been accepted.

"We and the neighbourhood are going to miss them," Cuddy said.

Tang in turn gifted Cuddy and his final dine-in customers a boxed pair of dark red chopsticks.

"We will treasure these," Cuddy said.

Customer David Cuddy dropped by Saturday to bid Tang goodbye in person. Tang gifted him two pairs of chopsticks. (Guy Quenneville/CBC)

Part of the neighbourhood's fabric

It's always sad for the neighbourhood to lose a business, but especially one that's "in its 44th year of business in the community," said Dave Allston, the acting president of the Wellington Village Community Association, in an email.

"Many of the long-time residents have grown up with Won Ton House as part of their lives," he added.

Tang owns the building, and isn't sure what will come next — but perhaps it will become home to a new restaurant, run by someone else.

"And they would run [it] for another 50 years," he said. "I really would like to see that."

Tang posted a notice about the restaurant's closing by the entrance. (Guy Quenneville/CBC)