SAN FRANCISCO—On Monday, August 17, owner Richard Wong announced that Ton Kiang, his family’s dim-sum restaurant and Hakka-style banquet hall, will permanently close at the end of the month,
The restaurant is located on Geary Street in San Francisco’s Richmond District, where the Wong family has been serving dim-sum to San Franciscans for 40 years. Wong’s father Ching Boon Wong and mother Ching Su Wong opened the first Ton Kiang in San Francisco’s Chinatown in 1978. They expanded the business, opening two new restaurants on Geary Street in the early 1980s. The current location is the only one that remains open as the other two closed years ago.
In recent years, despite facing competition from new dim-sum places, Ton Kiang has continued to draw lines of customers eager to taste the dishes that the waiters bring to their tables on carts. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ton Kiang remained open for dim-sum takeout and is doing home deliveries.
According to the restaurant’s website, it is named for a river near which many ancient Chinese Hakka people settled. Its dinner menu features some dishes based on the cuisine of the Hakka people.
“We are sad and sorry that it is time to say zai jian (until we meet again). After 42 years of proudly serving the bay area community, Ton Kiang will go dark for good on August 31, 2020, Monday. Over the years, you shared your weddings and anniversaries with us, celebrated and had us host your life passages and family gatherings events. We sincerely thank you for letting us to be a part of your family and for sharing great memories together… We will miss you all and wish the best for you and your family. Zai jian!,” reads a statement from the restaurant and the Wong family on its website.
Ton Kiang remains open from 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Thursday to Tuesday until August 30.
