Chinatown’s Downtown Austin Location to Close

I got a call from Ronald Cheng friday night. He told me that after considerable thought he had decided to close the iconic Chinatown downtown location on West 5th Street.

A decision of this magnitude is not made lightly. Ronald finally had to deal with the combined effects of a lease issue, social distancing (which took a deep bite out of his popular karaoke nights), and his substantive pride in a restaurant that had grown into a downtown knockout.

My daughter and I spent many fun nights there honing our act and enjoying Ronald’s hospitality as we developed The Balons, which eventually grew into some original tunes and intricate harmonies along with some pretty loyal followers. And we had our closing concert there as Jen and John were leaving for Colorado.

I’ll never forget the warmth and sincerity with which Ronald introduced us that last night and I must return that to him. Saying so long to a restaurant that has had such excellent food and has led to the making of so many different careers while affording unlimited pleasure and joy to a generation of Austin diners is an extraordinarily difficult thing to do.

So bon voyage to Chinatown downtown. It will most definitely be missed!