Tasty Place Bakery and Cafe is one of the few places remaining in Chinatown that is a true hub for local residents. For just a few dollars, you can get a satisfying snack or meal.
“The food is good and it’s cheap,” a regular confirmed, between sips of coffee with his friends at the restaurant, 2339A S. Wentworth Ave., Tuesday morning. The place was packed and filled with the bass of chatter. Workers stood ready at the bakery display cases that glowed with favorites like hot dog buns (腸仔包) and paper-wrapped sponge cakes (紙包蛋糕).
Despite the loyal clientele, the owners, Zhen Li and his wife, are retiring and selling Tasty Place. According to an Instagram story post by the owners’ daughter, the bakery is closing on Thursday, April 30.
“They’ve been talking about retiring. My uncle, he wants to continue his work but he’s just done coming in really early in the restaurant to work. He just wants to have a more chill job,” said Danny Mei, 18, the nephew of the previous Tasty Place owners. Mei’s mother also works as a waitress there.
Mei found out about the owners leaving the business two months ago. “They actually sold it to my mom’s coworker,” Mei said.
The new owner, Junbin Hu, worked at Tasty Place for over 10 years and decided to take over the restaurant after hearing that the previous owners, her bosses, wanted to retire. She plans to keep the name and offerings the same. However, the restaurant will be closed for renovations for two months.
“We will keep it the same, but the restaurant is really old so we’re going to renovate. But we’ll keep things mostly the same. We haven’t thought about the prices yet,” Hu said.
While the future is uncertain with many longtime independent businesses closing as more chains move in, the support of the community and consistent patronage prompted her to take the risk.
“I’m not sure if it will be successful, but we have to try,” Hu said.
For those who frequented Tasty Place, the news of the owners getting out of the business saddened and surprised them as they mourned the possible loss of yet another community staple that was actually owned and patronized by locals. It was a place for many in the neighborhood to start their day.
“We’re the earliest business to open in Chinatown at 6 a.m.,” Susan Chen, a longtime employee of Tasty Place who was working the cash register on Tuesday, said.
Even though it appears Tasty Place isn’t closing down permanently, the shuttering of other small, beloved family-owned businesses has become a worrisome trend for residents of Chinatown.
Late last year, in September 2025, another restaurant called Tasty Place, 2306 S. Wentworth Ave., bearing the same name but different owners, had closed. In 2023, Seven Treasures, a restaurant located a storefront north that was nearly 40 years old, closed in 2023 when the second-generation owner retired. It is now Happy Lamb Hot Pot, a chain restaurant.
Clayton Xu, policy manager of Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community (CBCAC), wrote about the closure of the first Tasty Place. Xu said both restaurants were a cornerstone of the community, especially for older residents to gather and socialize.
“The previous one was more diverse, [serving] grandmas, tourists, young folks. But for this particular one, every time I walk in, there are always seniors. It is always fully packed. Everyone is talking loudly, socializing, and it’s somewhat like a third space. People just buy a drink and then just talk for the whole afternoon, especially for retired folks who don’t have a lot to do,” Xu said.
Mei noticed this too when he worked at Tasty Place for a summer. “It’s pretty nice to see how critical it is for the community because there’s a lot of Asian grandpas that have their morning coffees there,” he said.
In its final days before it closes for renovations, the restaurant is as busy as ever with regulars trying to get in one more coffee or pastry.
“It’s been a pretty busy week because everyone’s trying to go there for the final week,” Mei said.
Even if just for two months, the loss of the bakery will be greatly felt, especially for Mei.
“I’ve been going there to eat for all my life, and it’s kind of sad that [my family] won’t have this place to gather around and eat,” Mei said.