After 40 years in business, the Tam family is calling it quits. The restaurant will close its doors on Sunday at 11 a.m.
Isidore Tam came to the U.S. in the 1981 from Hong Kong. He worked his way up from dishwasher to owner. Winnie says she is proud of her father's accomplishments, and the restaurant's place in the community.
"I think being in Japantown and growing up there, and seeing everybody grow old with us, grow with us as a family, too," says Winnie. "All of my sisters and I, we were pregnant and we were still working there. We really grew with the restaurant."She says the restaurant's signature dish - shabu shabu - which is like a Japanese hot pot, started a Bay Area trend.
"There is a lot of memories with shabu shabu. I think that's what people will miss us for the most. And, I think we were one of the first people to do it in the Bay Area. We were a lot of people's first experience with shabu shabu," says Winnie. The reason for closing? Winnie says her dad is 73-year-old, and ready to retire. But admits, the decision was speed up in part by the pandemic. Plus, changing consumer habits, like food delivery apps, which add to the competing pressures many restaurants face."I am sad to know that it's their last. It's just awful. I mean we are here on 81st birthday trip. And so, we need to have things to go. Not end," jokes Rosie Conner, who lives in Denver.
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