The 102-year-old store is the last of a generation of businesses in Vancouver’s shrinking Chinatown
Fontaine Wong, seen here on Jan. 7, 2020, said there were multiple reasons for closing: She and her two older sisters, Diane and Theresa, wanted to retire. The extended family wanted to sell the building.Among the mourners of the pending closing of an iconic, family-run kitchenware shop in Vancouver’s Chinatown is the new owner of the building where the 102-year-old store is located.
“I worked here for 45 years. We lived here as children. So it was with mixed emotions and a lot of thought" that the decision was made, said Fontaine Wong, her voice cracking as she talked about the loss, her memories of the neighbourhood she grew up in and the streams of customers visiting her store this week who are dismayed about the closure.
“The area has changed so much. I don’t see a light at the end of the tunnel," said Ms. Wong, whose extended family runs three other branches elsewhere in the region. However, the Chinatown location was the first. The four-storey building where Ming Wo operates was built in 1913, with its façade designed by the man believed to be the first Chinese architect in the city, W.H. Chow, as he is referred to in historical accounts. The building is known for its elements of classical architecture, such as recessed balconies and vertical columns on the upper floors. Customers always noticed the tiled entryway and old-fashioned wood floors.
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