New York’s largest Chinese restaurant has shuttered.
Chinatown restaurant Jing Fong, which can seat up to 800 guests, closed on Thursday due to a drop-off in business due to coronavirus, the New York Post reported.
The final decision to close was made yesterday after Gov. Cuomo announced a ban on gatherings of more than 500 people. The owners said business had dropped 30 to 40 percent in the restaurant’s Upper West Side location, which will remain open for the time being.
“We will re-open when everything passes,” Claudia Leo, the restaurant’s marketing director said. “Honestly we have no idea when. Maybe when there is a vaccine and a cure but there is no light at the end of this tunnel right now.”
The closure of the classic Chinatown restaurant comes amid a general slowdown due to the novel coronavirus, which was officially deemed a pandemic this week. Hotel occupancy has plunged and retail tenants in other countries have taken a hit. [NYP] — Georgia Kromrei