A restaurant that grew up with Silicon Valley is closing. After nearly 60 years in business, Ming’s Restaurant in Palo Alto will close on Sunday.
“This is the restaurant that was born, and came to life and prosper with Silicon Valley,” said owner Vicky Ching.
Ming’s opened in 1956. Ching says, once HP established itself in Palo Alto, business took off. Ming's quickly became the place for business lunches and banquets. Some of those people still come to the restaurant.
“When I [worked] in Silicon Valley there were no free lunches,” Dennis Derecho joked. “But we did travel here, and this was kind of the end of the road to get here, get lunch, and go back to work.”
"It's been a mainstay for all of us who grew up in this area,” said Lynne Glendenning.
However, lunches at many tech companies have changed. Now, many employees just stay at work and receive free lunch.
Ming’s also faces high utility costs at to keep the 500-seat restaurant open. Ching says it's simply not working out. So, this Sunday, the last plate will be served.
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Longtime patrons are devastated.
“If I had a bad day or just wasn't feeling well, my friends or my family would go and get me some shredded chicken salad and some wonton soup from Ming’s,” Glendenning said.
The good news for the people filling the seats for goodbye dinners this weekend: Ming’s won't be closed for good. The building will be demolished, and Ching will build a hotel in its place. On the bottom floor of the hotel, Ching will open a new, smaller version of Ming's restaurant. The construction is expected to take two years.
"I think that will be a better use for the land and then I will be able to serve the community even better,” Ching said.
