China Inn for sale
A cherished Palmerston North hospitality personality wants to sell his popular karaoke bar and restaurant – he feels the time has come to hang up his apron and pass the mic to a new generation.
For 34 years, Danny Yeung has served up Chinese food and a chance to step into the singing spotlight at the China Inn – Palmerston North’s first and longest-running karaoke bar and restaurant.
Yeung’s friendly, people-focused approach has earned him the respect of his peers and customers, and he’s been twice named the Manawatu¯ Hospitality Awards personality of the year.
But Yeung is looking to retire, so he’s put the beloved night-spot on the market.
Property Brokers real estate agency Lynette Love said she had known how popular the China Inn was, but hadn’t expected such a massive social media reaction to news of the planned sale – including thousands of friendly Facebook comments and about 30,000 hits on a promotional video in the past week.
Yeung opened the China Inn on the corner of Broadway Ave and Princess St in 1984, after the Hong Kong banker-turned-chef followed his brothers to New Zealand.
It was one of the first restaurants on Broadway, and the first bar or restaurant in Palmerston North with karaoke, which soon proved even more popular than the live music that was originally the main entertainment.
‘‘A lot of people really loved it – people love to sing themselves.’’
After a few years, Yeung ditched the live music and had the whole restaurant redone, bringing in the karaoke stage the China’s become so well known for.
Karaoke had been a huge part of the friendly atmosphere at the China Inn, he said.
‘‘I’ve always treated people as friends when they come in.’’
The staff had been together a long time. They were a family, literally for some, and a few longstanding staff had even married into Yeung’s family, he said.
But all good things come to an end. ‘‘I’ve been around too long... It’s time to go,’’ he said.
He wanted a change of pace, and planned to take a few trips with his wife Mary to visit family and friends around the world.
‘‘But then I’ll come back here [to Palmerston North] – I still love it here.’’
The China Inn’s karaoke MC of 28 years, Willie Fah, said the sale would be the end of an era.
‘‘Danny is the China Inn.
‘‘It won’t be the same without him.’’ ‘‘It’d be a sad day if karaoke at the China stops. Ordinary guys, like me, would never get a chance to be in the limelight if it wasn’t for karaoke.’’
That meant the musical quality could be a mixed bag, but Fah loved that about it.
Fah said there was a lot of talent in Palmerston North – and you couldn’t always tell until someone stepped up to the mic.
‘‘Some nights you’ll get a run of really drunk people who just yell and scream, and it’s like torture.
‘‘But then you’ll get someone who’s really talented, and it’s amazing to hear.’’
Classic songs such as Hotel California and The Gambler were always popular, and for the past few years Wagon Wheel had been a hit with the younger crowd.