Customers are stopping in at the Forum Chinese Seafood Restaurant to say goodbye to Marie and Charles Yang, who have sold their popular Chinatown eatery.
"It's time for us," Marie said Tuesday. After 16 years, the couple has sold the Forum to new owners and are looking forward to taking a break and having weekends and holidays off. They will pay more visits to their daughter in Calgary and possibly take a trip.
Marie, 55, and Charles, 57, who is the chef, initially worked seven days a week after buying the Forum in 1996. These days, they take Sunday morning and Monday off. The previous owner had operated the Forum for a decade and the location had been used as a restaurant under different names, Marie said.
The Yangs' final day in the 65-seat restaurant is Oct. 31. "We are known by a lot of people and we do have a lot of regular followers who have been supporting us over the years," Marie said.
Popular dishes include lettuce wraps, salt-and-pepper squid, barbecued pork and duck, Hong Kong-style chow mein and Szechuan dishes and a variety of soups, she said.
The Forum will continue under new owners Wei Jang and Judy Yang.
In recent years the restaurant business has become more challenging due to the changing economy, fewer tourists, the harmonized sales tax and tough liquor laws, Marie said. "But I will miss my customers ... They have been so good to us."
