San Jose's Oldest Restaurant Closes After 94 Years
By Mike Colgan I KCBS Radio I Feb 25, 2019
Original Article
SAN JOSE (KCBS Radio) -- Its iconic neon sign was a beacon in San Jose's Japantown for as long as anyone can remember. But the sign has been switched off with the closure of Wing's Chinese Restaurant, considered the oldest full-service restaurant in San Jose.
The restaurant, beloved for its array of Mandarin and Szechwan dishes and generous serving sizes, opened its doors in 1925. It closed them Sunday, the final chapter in a story that included a near-shutdown in 2017. The restaurant's lease at its 131 Jackson Street location has been an issue for some time.
The shutdown came with little advance warning. "I just let our friends and best customers know," owner Ashley Yu told KCBS Radio reporter Mike Colgan. Yu said she decided not to widely publicize the closing because she was afraid her staff would be overwhelmed by business.
Yu said she hoped to find another location in the area so she could re-open the restaurant, but it's doubtful the historic interior with its private booths and bells that diners rang for service would make the trip.
The Wing's closure came less than two months after the sudden closure of another longstanding San Jose eatery, Harry's Hofbrau, which shut down after 42 years.