Loyal customer's hearts were broken in early December when the owners of Yen Ching Restaurant in Orange announced their retirement and consequently the closing of their business Yen Ching Restaurant. 

For 39 years of serving the community, the restaurant famous for serving Mandarin and Szechwan cuisine in Orange County located on 574 South Glassell Street in Orange, fed generations of families. The business was opened on New Year’s Eve in 1979 and closed on New Year’s Eve in 2018. 

“We've had the privilege of knowing generations of Orange County families - parents, grandparents, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and even those who've moved away and remembered to return for a nostalgic meal. We are so grateful that you have invited us into your lives and allowed us to be a part of your family traditions for almost 40 years.”

The message was signed by the founders and co-owners Ben Tzou, Ruby Tzou and Charles Zhang. 

“It’s a bittersweet day. We’re happy our parents can retire,” said Eileen Townsend, one of the Tzou’s daughters, who spent the last day of service at the restaurant with her parents. 

For weeks following their announcement, calls kept rolling in with customers asking to schedule reservations so they could enjoy one last meal at Yen Ching. The Tzou family says the outpouring of love and support from the community is something they’re always remember.

“Starting this business here, being one of the first Chinese restaurants in Orange County. I just feel so much pride knowing that they’ve done this and I mean I was born here and I don’t even think I can do something like that,” said Elaine Zane, another one of the Tzou’s children.

Yen Ching has been the family’s labor of love. Ben Tzou works in the kitchen while his wife, Ruby Tzou, greets customers and handles the dining area. They’ve watched the children they served grow up to be parents of their own children. 

On their last day of business, the Torres family dined in. 

“I think I was in fourth grade when we started coming here. We’ve celebrated birthdays here. Every time our relatives come out from Florida, we bring them here and they ask to come here,” said Vanessa Torres, who came in to eat with her brother, their father, her children and her brother’s children. 

They said they were in shock when they found out their favorite restaurant was closing. They don’t know where else to go to get the same treatment and meals. 

The restaurant was bought by a national senior living company that plans on tearing the restaurant down and building a 35-room permanent memory care facility. 

The founders of Yen Ching say they plan on relaxing during their golden years and spending time with their children and grandchildren.