Newark's local dining landscape is losing one of its oldest players: the Jade Palace restaurant is shutting down after 53 years. The closure, which can be attributed to the loss of the family's patriarch Edwin Yee Wing Lee, and the subsequent decision to cease operations, will mark the end of an era for the beloved Chinese diner. Poised to close on December 21, Jade Palace has been a culinary anchor for both residents and prominent figures alike, with customers including rock musician Greg Kihn and pro wrestler Alexis Smirnoff, as detailed by the Mercury News.
Phillip Lee, who took over the reins of the family business following his father's death last winter, laid bare the history and sentiment behind the establishment. "My dad, he was going to be 90 pretty soon, but he was still the Energizer Bunny. He was one of those kinds of guys who lived to work – for 50-odd years, he’d been working here every single day," Lee reminisced in a statement obtained by the Mercury News. His statement underscores the passion that drove the family's dedication to their culinary venture since its unconventional inception in a Newark shopping center in 1970.
With roots tracing back to the early 1950s when Phillip Lee's grandfather opened a restaurant in Oakland, the Lee family took a chance on a Newark bar's backroom restaurant in 1970 that blossomed into the Jade Palace known today. The dishes served, including classics like chop suey and Mongolian beef, have drawn a loyal clientele over the decades. Franz Bruckner, a regular and family friend, lauded the spot for its unique place as a community hub in the East Bay area, telling the Mercury News, "It is literally a meeting place for the local East Bay community."
Yelp users have also expressed their sadness at the impending closure. Ernesto P. from Oakland posted on Yelp, "I am a big chow mein person, it's hard for me to find a place," lamenting that he had only recently discovered what he called the "hidden gem" of Jade Palace. Meanwhile, Anita L. from Fremont shared her heartbreak, emphasizing the irreplaceability of the American-friendly dishes, and wished best for the Lee family in their upcoming retirement.
The end of Jade Palace represents not just a commercial closure, but the closing off of a community watering hole that has spanned more than half a century. As the Indian kitchen set to replace Jade Palace prepares to move in,, regular patrons and the Lee family are saying their final farewells, turning an eatery known for its classic Cantonese flair into a memory savored by many. Phillip Lee may be looking forward to retirement, ready to "spend time with my kids, travel, work on my old vintage cars and my old bicycles," as he told the Mercury News, but acknowledges the bittersweetness of leaving the community, "We will miss all these people, though... They’re like family."
