END OF AN ERA IN NIAGARA FALLS AS LEE'S RESTAURANT CLOSES

RETIREMENT BECKONED FOR OWNERS WINNIE AND MICHAEL CHEN

The phone was ringing off the hook at Lee's Restaurant and Tavern.

By all appearances, it was just another busy day at the popular Niagara Falls Chinese restaurant. But March 15 was different. As of 8 p.m., the restaurant, located in the Stamford Centre area of the city, will have closed its doors for good. Eighteen years after purchasing the restaurant from its original owner, Michael and Winnie Chen have decided to retire.

After nearly two decades of 12-hour days and taking very little time off for themselves, it was time for a change, said Jessica Chen, the couple's daughter. She grew up with the restaurant playing a large role in her life.

"There's good memories associated with it," she said. but I'm also just happy to see my parents retiring. It's something that's well deserved."

Chen had posted the news on the restaurant's Facebook page and she was surprised — and gratified — to see the amount of support for her parents and the business.

"A big surprise has just been the amount of love we received from people over the past few days," she said. "We didn't realize how much we meant to the community."

Since hearing of the news of the restaurant shutting its doors, many longtime customers stopped by to share their memories.

"We heard about people who've also essentially grown up with us where they've, like, brought their families here," she said. "A couple met here, actually and they took their engagement photos here."

In the past few years, largely because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there had been some changes made as to how the restaurant did business. Hours were reduced from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. to noon to 8 p.m. with just three hours — 4 to 7 p.m. — of dining room service.

Even with the workload, with her parents both in their 60s, they were struggling to keep up with the demands of running a business. With their lease set to expire, the decision was made to close rather than renew.

"I think they're just happy to retire at this point after working for 18 years almost every day," Jessica said. "It's just time to rest."

Tom Cheng, a family friend of the Chens, has helped at the restaurant on and off over the years.

He made sure to be at the restaurant in its final days. In that time, has seen many customers coming in who have taken the news of the closure hard. He said he sees something positive in that.

"When you see a patron come in and they're almost in tears and know that you're closing, it tells you that you did something right?