plates of Chinese food at David Fong's
“It’s the only job I’ve ever had.”
Ed Fong has talked to his team, conferred with his parents, and made the decision to retire, closing the iconic David Fong’s after 64 years. Still open through the end of August, this solid run ends when summer does.
two people standing in front of a car
David and Helen Fong
The legacy restaurant was opened by his father in 1958. The family story tells of an optimistic man who drove south from Minneapolis with the dream of opening his own business, a carry-out Chinese restaurant. Somewhere in Richfield, he got lost in the rain and ended up at a small strip mall in a growing township called Bloomington. Fong’s Chow Mein was born, but quickly outpaced their expectations. By 1966, the full-service David Fong’s opened a few blocks away from the original, in the same spot it stands today.
Ed Fong was two months old when the restaurant opened, so he is also 64. “I’ve never worked outside the family business. Of the six kids, I’m the only one who did that, but I took over for my parents when I was 24, so I’ve been running it for 40 years.”
Ed’s parents, David and Helen are still around, and I wondered what they thought about the ending of this era, “Funny story,” Ed told me, “When I brought up the topic, they said they had been thinking the same thing but didn’t know how to tell me. How do you close out a long-standing family business? It’s always a tough decision. But we want to end on a high note, celebrate what this place has meant to the community.”
David Fong’s may have passed on serving cutting edge Chinese cuisine in favor of family favorites, but it has long been a Best Restaurant in many hearts. During the pandemic, the community supported the restaurant through take-out, just as in the many years prior the restaurant supported them by sponsoring youth baseball teams, boosting city organizations, contributing to hunger relief orgs like VEAP, hosting countless weddings, and becoming a fixture in people’s lives.
I think it only truly hit me a few years ago when I was tucking into a plate of sesame chicken in the cool dark lounge, where I had once belted out a killer rendition of I Will Survive on karaoke in the early 90’s. Watching the old guys at the bar and seeing Ed work the room and talk golf with a few tables near us: David Fong’s has achieved what most restaurants don’t get to anymore, the real dream of hospitality where it’s a shared experience. When lives are built around each other, it goes both ways.
ed fong standing in his restaurant
What happens now? “I’m going to enjoy my grandkids, spend more time with my wife, Blanche. She might get sick of me, even though we’ve been working together for years.” It’s possible that there will still be more that comes from the business once the restaurant closes, perhaps a cookbook or maybe some bottled sauces that have become beloved over the years. Some of his siblings are still in the hospitality game, brother David Fong Jr. will continue to run D.Fong’s Chinese Cuisine in Savage and his sister Cindy Le owns and operates Fong’s Restaurant, Bar + Event Center in Prior Lake.
But for now, Ed and his family are going to focus on celebrating with everyone who wants to send them off. The restaurant will close around the end of August, stay tuned to their socials for more info, but you still have a few more weeks to get in that sesame chicken.
