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New era for Sub Arctic Kitchen
Former owners leaving with fond memories,
Canadian citizenship and an appreciation of the North
Nathalie Heiberg-Harrison
The husband and wife team, who have been running the Chinese restaurant with their family since 2005, will be handing the reins over to Peter Pang and Alin Zou, who have already moved up from Edmonton to oversee the transition. Pang brings with him nearly 20 years of restaurant management experience, and the pair will be making big changes. For approximately two months the Sub Arctic Kitchen will be shut down to undergo a major renovation. The menu will be getting a facelift too. Salt and pepper squid, ginger beef and lemon chicken – the most popular dishes – will be staying, along with the other Chinese food options, but there will be more traditional Western restaurant foods offered as well. Lu and her family will be moving back to Edmonton to start a new business, possibly in the food industry again, but not without heavy hearts. "I expected Fort Simpson to be very small, very scary, with not much people," she said. "We came here to this restaurant not knowing about this community. We became Canadian citizens here and really feel warm from all the help and support from everyone." Lu's daughter, Angela, who moved to Fort Simpson four years ago from Shanghai, said she too will miss the hospitality and kindness of people in the North. When Angela left China, she knew very little English. She credits her teachers in Fort Simpson for helping her become fluent in the language. "We want to say thank you from the bottom of our heart for the support from the community," she said. "Everybody is happy working here. We can see our family every day." Although the restaurant kept them busy, Lu said their schedule was so full they only had the chance twice in six years to fly back to China to visit family. Once the family moves to Edmonton, they will take some time off to relax before diving into a new business venture, she said. "Six years has gone by so fast, but our memories last forever," she said. "We love the people here. We will miss them when we go." There is no set date for when the restaurant will close, but Lu estimates it will either be Oct. 16 or 17.
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