From JoyaleSeattle.com
Joyale Seafood Restaurant will remain open on weekends after owner Vincent Zhao changed plans to close the Chinatown-International District (CID) restaurant following a strong reaction from the community.
Zhao, who also owns Seattle Harbor on Lake Union, decided to suspend weekday operations and continue offering weekend dim sum service after community members voiced concern over the restaurant’s planned closure, according to information provided to Northwest Asian Weekly.
Photo provided by Joyale Seafood Restaurant
The change comes days after news of Joyale’s planned closure spread through the neighborhood, prompting an outpouring of support for one of Seattle’s last traditional push-cart dim sum restaurants.
Tanya Woo, a CID community member and activist, said Joyale has long been an important gathering place for the community.
“We used to have many banquets here. I had many dinners here,” Woo said in a video interview posted on Instagram by independent journalist Jonathan Choe. “It was a place for the community to gather and to celebrate. It’s very sad to hear that.”
Northwest Asian Weekly has hosted community events at Joyale and attended numerous cultural, civic and nonprofit gatherings there over the years.
Woo said she believes public safety issues have driven customers and businesses away from the neighborhood.
“We’re right next to 12th and Jackson, so it’s due to all the open-air drug use and crime,” she said.
Asked whether more businesses could leave the district, Woo said many are already struggling.
“I know more businesses are struggling, and I know that many businesses may not be able to make it,” she said. “It’s just tough all around.”
Woo said many buildings in the neighborhood are now for sale but rejected the idea that current conditions should be accepted.
“I refuse to accept that this is our new normal,” she said. “I know we can do better. I know the city can do better.”
According to The Seattle Times, Zhao said he had planned to close the restaurant after declining sales and persistent crime near the intersection of 12th Avenue South and South Jackson Street.
“The crime and drugs are imprinted into customers’ heads that this is no longer a safe place to come and dine,” Zhao told The Seattle Times.
Zhao also owns Seattle Harbor, formerly China Harbor, on Lake Union and has ownership interests in two Bellevue Chinese restaurants.
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