A beloved restaurant that has been serving Chinese cuisine to its customers since 1997 will soon be closing its doors. Chef Li will permanently close on May 16, 2025, as per the notice posted at the restaurant’s door. The notice thanked the restaurant’s customers for their support of the business.
Highlights
- Chef Li, a beloved Chinese restaurant in San Jose, will soon be closing its doors.
- The restaurant is closing down after it failed to get its lease renewed.
- Customers who loved Chef Li took to social media to bid it farewell.
A Community Icon Bids Goodbye
Chef Li is located at 2033 Camden Ave and is a small, family-owned Chinese restaurant in Camden Park Plaza. The owner, Eric Deic, runs the restaurant where diners can also enjoy the fragrance of beautiful orchids that serve as the centre pieces.
The restaurant has been serving diners with its traditional Chinese and Hong Kong dishes. Dishes like chicken breast with hot garlic sauce, sesame chicken, ruby jade scallops, Szechuan eggplants with prawns and scallops, and European-style desserts were among the menu items. The restaurant also offered a separate party catering menu for events.
Regular Customers to Lose their Favorite Place
During the 28 years in the business, Chef Li had become quite popular in the San Jose community. Due to this reason, the news of its closing was met with great disappointment.
In a Reddit thread titled “How can we help!! Chef Li”, customers expressed their sadness of the restaurant closure news. “That’s so sad! One of my favorite Chinese restaurants. Their portions are massive, and they have fantastic vegetarian options,” one user said.
“Chef Li’s has been an important tradition for my family for decades. We celebrated my high school graduation there in 2005. Eric and the staff there are the best. I have nothing but fond memories of Chef Li’s. Such sad news and such a loss for the neighborhood,” another long-time customer said.
“I grew up going to Chef Li. This is where I had my first date with my now-husband. It’s now my son’s favorite restaurant. The phrases “Hello my friends” and “OK 15 minutes thank you” are family nomenclature. Truly, I didn’t think I would cry over a restaurant closing. It’s more like losing a good friend,” yet another saddened customer wrote.
The Reason For the Closure
Chef Li is being closed down due to losing its lease, as per the notice posted at the restaurant. Redtree Partners, which manages Camden Park Plaza where the restaurant is located, refused to renew the lease.
As per reports, Eric Deic offered to pay more rent to retain the restaurant but was unsuccessful. He cannot afford to open the restaurant at a new location, which means that this will be the end of the story for Chef Li.
While the restaurant may be closing down, Eric Deic will still be selling orchids to those who want them. The notice at the restaurant asked the customers to contact him directly for the flowers.
Chef Li’s story is part of a pattern of small businesses being forced to close down across the state and the country. Disgruntled customers have been expressing their sadness over having to say goodbye to their favorite restaurants.
