They opened their restaurant in the middle of a pandemic. Now this family can't keep up

RuweiLiang has been working toward opening a Chinese restaurant in St. John's since 2018 and it finally came together right as the COVID-19 pandemic started spreading around the world.

Large bold letters in the window of the formerPhilly'sMini Mart in Airport Heights proclaim "Takeout Open."

With restaurant dining rooms closed across the province to stop the spread of COVID-19, Liang's expectations were low when he opened the doors to KungFu Chinese Restaurant on Monday.

He was wrong.

"Oh, [I'm] totally flat out,' Liang laughed when reached Wednesday.

"I didn't expect that many people would support me during this so difficult time, I'm so thankful for our wonderful community."

Liangsaid his staff have been fielding hundreds of calls per day. In fact, in order to reach Liang for an interview it took multiple calls that either went straight to voicemail or were cut off.

"I [am]hoping to do my best for my neighbour and hopefully I can survive," he said. "The virus is not affecting just me, it's right across the whole world, so I have to face it, do my best."

Liang took over the vacant building on Airport Heights Drive in October and began a big renovation. He didn't expect the virus to reach Canada, and when it did, he was already set to open.

3 hours' sleepand loving it

"Customers got a lot of patience, When they order the food, they want pickup at5 o'clock and we are not ready yet so the wait is 20-30 minutes," Liang said, who has a small staff: a cook andtwo waitresses along withhimand his wife.

"But they are still waiting outside in their vehicles. I appreciateit.They give me good compliments about the food, my renovation, my waitress and staff."

Liangsaid he has two restaurants just outside Hong Kong.

He came to Canada in 2013, and after travelling through different provinces, settled on Newfoundland and Labrador to continue his culinary dream.

"I only got three hours sleep," he laughed. "I've been cooking for 20 years so far,so I love cooking, I love people enjoying my food."

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