Ming’s owner explains his decision to ‘hang it up’ and close his restaurant after 47 years
Back in 1977, 23-year-old Ray Chan had just finished up a six-month stint at the famous Albert’s Chinese restaurant on East Kellogg and decided he was ready to open his own restaurant.
Chan was a single man with little to no credit, but businessman Fran Jabara agreed to lease him a little mid-century building at 1625 S. Seneca. The name Hong Kong, his first choice, was already taken, so Chan decided to name his restaurant Ming’s after China’s prosperous Ming dynasty.
Now, 47 years later, Chan is 70, and he’s ready to retire. The restaurant that he opened as a young man is now well-worn and filled with memories.
His three daughters — now 37, 36 and 27 — grew up at Ming’s, often playing in the corner of the dining room while their father worked in the kitchen and their grandmother rolled egg rolls nearby. Today, some of Chan’s five grandchildren often play in the same corner.
Chan made city-wide news last week when he announced his plan to close Ming’s, a favorite of many families across Wichita and one of the few old-school Chinese restaurants still operating in a city that today is filled with take-out places and super buffets.
Many of Chan’s customers were distraught about the news of the closing, which he says will happen on June 30 or sooner, depending on how long his food supply lasts. But Chan, who sat down earlier this week to explain the reasons behind his decision, said that too many signs were telling him that it was time.
Things just haven’t been the same since the pandemic, said Chan, who says he can no longer find good help. Not only that, but the prices on the ingredients he insists on using, some imported from overseas, just continue to climb.
“The main thing was COVID,” he said. “Everything is tough, and it’s not getting any better. It’s harder and harder and harder.”
Chan, in fact, has been so short staffed that he’s been running the kitchen for several years and is unable to pop out and greet his customers for more than a few seconds.
Now that he’s 70, he said, he’s ready to slow down. Working in the kitchen is exhausting, especially in the hot summer months, and he just doesn’t want to do it anymore.
“It’s a combination of everything,” he said. “It was time to hang it up.”
Chan plans to fish, read and travel. He fell in love with Thailand on a trip there three or four years ago and wants to go back to visit as soon as he can.
Although his longtime customers are upset, Chan said, his family — especially his wife, Ai-Leng, and his oldest daughter are thrilled. He’s worked long, hard hours his whole life, they tell him, and he deserves to rest.
But that doesn’t mean it won’t be difficult to say goodbye to a business that’s been a part of his entire adult life, a business that provided his family with a good life.
The toughest part, he said, will be no longer seeing his customers, many of whom are regulars.
“The main thing I will miss is the friendships,” he said.
A student of Albert’s
Chan immigrated from Hong Kong to the United States with his mother and brother when he was 15 years old. His father joined them later.
It was the early 1970s, and the family settled in California. Chan attended high school there then went to Sacramento City College, where he studied business. After, he needed a job, and he heard about an opening at a big Chinese restaurant in Oakland. But back in the 1970s, it was hard to get a job in a big Chinese restaurant unless you were related to the owners or someone recommended you: Families were worried about outsiders stealing their business and recipe secrets.
Somehow, though, Chan was offered the job, and he jumped at it. He spent six months at the restaurant, learning the ins and outs.
“Luckily, the head chef — the nephew — we got along so well,” Chan said. “He taught me a lot of stuff.”
Chan decided he wanted to open his own restaurant in California, but nothing worked out. A distant relative in Wichita offered the family a partnership in his local restaurant, so the Chans loaded up a U-Haul and made their way to Kansas.
But when they arrived, they realized that the deal was not going to work out. Chan got a job at Albert’s, where he worked under owner Cornell Mar and quickly decided he was ready to go into business for himself.
That’s when he met Fran Jabara, who had just lost his most recent tenants on South Seneca. (Those tenants would move their business a few blocks away to 3028 S. Seneca, where they opened the long-running Hong Kong Restaurant.)
Chan didn’t have enough capital to start the business, but his mother and older brother loaned him the start-up money. His godmother chipped in, too. Chan opened Ming’s with a menu similar to Alberts’, which billed itself as a Cantonese restaurant and served chop suey, chow mein and other 1970s-style Chinese dishes. At the beginning, Chan called the business “Ming’s Cantonese Restaurant.” In retrospect, Chan said, that was a mistake.
“People didn’t know what it was,” he said. “We struggled. We didn’t make any money for almost two years. We almost gave up. But we persevered.”
Eventually, Chan changed the name to Ming’s Chinese Restaurant, and he built a clientele. Many of his customers were neighborhood families, but word of mouth advertising helped him draw regulars from as far away as Augusta and Andover.
Though Ming’s still serves chop suey and chow mein, its most popular dishes today are sweet-and-sour chicken, General Tso’s chicken, orange chicken, beef and broccoli and Mongolian beef. Chan said he’s been in the business long enough to notice a generational shift in Chinese food preferences. His older customers, many of whom are dying off, would always come in and order the same vegetable-heavy dishes. His younger customers prefer dishes with deep-fried meats and sweet sauces.
“The older customers, they are so loyal,” Chan said. “They come in, they don’t even have to look at the menu. They know what they want already. If you treat them right, they will never go anywhere. The new ones are, ‘Let me try this and try that,’” he said.
Four decades of friendship
Fran Jabara died in 2015, Chan said, but he always treated Chan’s family well, charging a more-than reasonable rent. Earlier this year, Fran’s son, Harvey, heard that Chan was considering retirement. Chan said Harvey Jabara called him and said, ‘I think you should have the final say in the building.’”
Harvey Jabara sold the building to Chan in April, just as he turned 70, and told him to do with it whatever he wanted.
“They’re such an honorable family,” Chan said.
Chan’s children all have their own careers and did not want to take over Ming’s. More importantly, Chan said, he didn’t want them to take it over. He worked hard at the restaurant so they wouldn’t have to.
For a while, he thought about selling the entire business, recipes and all. The new owner would have to agree not to change anything. But then Chan realized that such a transition would take at least six months, and he’s ready to retire now.
At the moment, Chan said, he’s trying to decide whether to lease out the building or sell it.
He knows the coming weeks will be challenging. Ever since word started spreading that he planned to close the restaurant, he’s been overwhelmed with business. Some nights, the wait for a table has been two hours. But customers wait.
He hopes to make it to June 30 so that everyone can get a final taste of Ming’s, Chan said. But to keep from running out of food, he may have to shorten his already shortened hours, which are 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays and noon to 8:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. The restaurant is closed Mondays through Wednesdays.
Chan said the friends he made at the restaurant will always stay with him. He laughed when he talked about a customer, who has since died, who used to barge into the restaurant kitchen to tell Chan dirty jokes.
During the last week, he said, it’s hit him exactly how many friends he’s made.
“I didn’t realize I had so many loyal customers,” he said. “It touched me. When I retire, that’s what I’ll miss.”
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