Tong Fong Low closes doors at Chico location
Restaurant’s final day was Friday, Oroville eatery remains open
CHICO » The Chinese restaurant Tong Fong Low has been serving customers in Butte County since 1912 at its Oroville location, before opening doors in Chico in 2009.
Despite success at both locations throughout its nearly 110-year history, which continued through the COVID-19 pandemic, owner Brian Wong and his family have decided to close the doors at the Chico location located at 2072 E. 20th St. effective Friday. March 19.
On March 13, Tong Fong Low Chico posted on its Facebook page that it was hiring servers, and a week later, on March 20, the restaurant said it was closed for the weekend due to a family emergency. Shortly thereafter a sign was posted on the door saying the owners have decided to close the doors permanently.
Wong said the closure was not due to a lack of customer support, but instead a choice that was made to ensure the family’s wellbeing. Wong said that once the COVID-19 pandemic initially began, some of his staff chose to stay home and hiring staff became extremely difficult. He said the restaurants were having to hire cooks and other staff members from out of the area, with the remaining work falling into the hands of the family and owner. Wong said his sister Sandy, who managed both locations, was often working more than 12 hour days to keep up with the necessary workload and deliveries.
“The community support has been great throughout the whole pandemic, it’s just that because of the situation and everything else it has just put too much of a strain on us, so we have to choose between our health and happiness versus moving forward,” Wong said Tuesday.
Wong and his family took over the Oroville restaurant in 1988 after the Gee family opened it 76 years prior. After its opening in 2009, Tong Fong Low Chico was voted Best Asian Restaurant and the Best Take Out Restaurant in Chico from 2010-2015 by the Chico News and Review.
Wong said that leaving the Chico location is sad for his family, saying that he will miss the loyal customers the restaurant has built up in its 11 years. Though Oroville residents, Wong said his kids attended school in Oroville but spent much of their youth attending music lessons and making friends in Chico.
“It’s like both communities feel like our home,” Wong said.
Wong had one final message for the Chico community, which he said he hopes will continue to visit at the Oroville location.
“We love them all. We just have to choose our wellbeing and that’s mainly the reason why we are doing this. It isn’t because of lack of support. It’s just that because of the pandemic and the strain that it has put on us, keeping it going was just a little bit too much.”