‘Thank you, Southlanders’
Canton Restaurant owners retire
A couple who have fed generations of Southland families at their Canton Restaurant in Invercargill have sold the building and are heading into retirement.
But not before they thank their Southland customers, many of whom have become friends during the past 39 years.
Chinese couple John and Susan Yu arrived in Invercargill from Vietnam in 1980; with John working at the Tiwai aluminium smelter and Susan working in an oyster factory and at a sewing job.
They saved up to buy their own restaurant. “We loved cooking, that’s why we decided we wanted our own business,” John said.
The couple, who married and had two sons in Invercargill, said they purchased the Willow Restaurant in Dee St in 1985 and turned the space into the Canton Restaurant, since they were Cantonese, before increasing its size in 1989.
Apart from a couple of weeks’ holiday most years, they had worked seven days a week for the 39 years.
John had been the chef and Susan had served the customers at the BYO restaurant, and they consistently hired between three and five staff, they said.
They had enjoyed many good years, with loyal Southland customers and an influx of Chinese students studying at the Southern Institute of Technology being good for business. They had also endured “really tough times” financially in the late 1990s, when Invercargill was depressed and they had big mortgages on their house and restaurant.
They did free deliveries during that time, cut back on expenses and did everything to please their customers in a bid to stay open.
The Canton rebounded. “Southlanders are very kind, very nice and friendly when they come to our restaurant, we want to thank them so much,” Susan said.
Four generations of some families had eaten at the Canton Restaurant, while others had been regular diners for the 39 years.
The couple said Southlanders had become more adventurous in their eating habits over the decades, while the Canton’s most popular dishes were chicken and cashew nuts, sweet and sour wontons, and wonton soup.
“They like the soup ... customers have been asking, ‘where are we going to get our wonton soup?’” Susan said.
The couple, who also paid tribute to their staff during the past 39 years, would close the restaurant at the end of serving on June 8 and head into retirement.
They would have a break before looking to enjoy some travel and hobbies.
“We are really proud we could live in Southland and bring up two boys. We are really grateful to the Southland people,” John said.
Carl Johnston, of Harcourts Invercargill, said an Auckland-based investor had purchased the building and would be actively looking for the next restaurant operators on the site.