Avalon’s only Chinese restaurant set to close in 2017

AVALON — Mr. Ning’s Chinese Garden, the only Chinese restaurant in Avalon, will be closing down within the next few months.

Husband and wife team, Leonard and Jan Ning, opened Mr. Ning’s Chinese Garden in 1988. Jan Ning’s sisters, Jenny and Joanne, joined the restaurant as servers while her brother, George, prepared the menu items as one of the chefs.

The food and the family have been well known among the community.

“The Santa Catalina Island Company and Jan-Hung Ning, owner and proprietor of Mr. Ning’s Chinese Garden, announced that the restaurant, which opened June 9, 1988, will immediately begin the process of closing, with a final date scheduled for some time in the first six months of 2017,” the Santa Catalina Island Company (SCICO) said in a published statement.

The Island Company voiced its gratitude to Mr. Ning’s owners, partners and “hard-working” staff, acknowledging the restaurant “for providing the community and visitors with wonderful food and friendly service over the past 29 years.”

Retirement, necessary costly repairs and impending construction were all factors in the ownership group’s decision to close down Mr. Ning’s.

“With the building being so old, the problems associated with trying to run the business, the needed repairs and the pending Atwater improvements, it all added up to this being the right time,” stated Jan Ning regarding the reasons for the restaurant closing.

Jan Ning expressed worry and concern about her employees. She hoped the early announcement of the restaurant’s closure would help give them enough time to obtain employment elsewhere. She appreciates her team and their wellbeing.

Jan Ning also appreciates the community’s response.

“We’ve had a good run here in Avalon and I want to thank the Island Company for its help in making this transition as smooth as possible,” Jan Ning said.

The restaurant is open for at least another six months, so there is still time to visit the family and enjoy the food.

A favorite among locals and visitors of Catalina Island, diners have regularly enjoyed Mandarin and Szechwan cuisine for lunch and dinner.