For nearly 50 years, Hu's Szechwan has been the kind of Westside restaurant where a family dinner can stretch across generations and a takeout order comes with enough food to make tomorrow's lunch feel pre-solved. Now, the Palms institution is facing an October exit from its longtime home and scrambling to find a way to keep its wok fires going.
The restaurant will close its current location this October as it searches for a new Westside space, according to ABC7 Los Angeles. Owner Kevin Hu told the station that he hopes to continue the business for many more decades, a goal that now depends on finding both a location and the money to make the move.
A 1977 Westside Restaurant Built Around Family Recipes
Hu's was opened by Kevin Hu's parents in 1977, after they immigrated from China and Taiwan and wanted to bring more flavorful Chinese food to the Westside. In the restaurant's GoFundMe campaign, Hu says customers who first came in with their parents now return with children and grandchildren of their own.
The menu reflects that old-school, family-table approach, with dishes including Kung Pao beef, Szechwan shrimp, pork dumplings, crispy orange chicken, sauteed green beans and tofu. ABC7 Los Angeles notes that the restaurant's cooking is rooted in Sichuan flavors, particularly the spicy and garlicky profile associated with the region, while every dish is served family-style.
Fundraiser Seeks Cash For A New Lease And Build-Out
Hu says the landlord plans to demolish and redevelop the existing property, forcing the restaurant to leave after nearly five decades there. The GoFundMe campaign says donations would help cover a new lease, renovations and reopening costs; as of Friday, it had raised $397 toward a $15,000 goal from 11 donors.
That leaves Hu's with a familiar Los Angeles restaurant problem: the recipes may be passed down, but the real estate is not. The campaign's stated aim is to preserve the restaurant's role as a Westside gathering place by giving those family recipes a new address instead of letting the story end with the old one.
