Danny Chow says his parents work too hard. His mom agrees, but also says Chow works too hard.
He says his parents usually end up working at their family’s restaurant , Ruby Inn, for more than 12 hours a day, six days a week, with only their kids to help them.
That doesn’t make their decision to close this well-loved Chinese spot at the Walkley Centre any easier.
“Right now, I feel so sad; I have no choice but to close for now. The mall will be demolished within a few years,” says Minshan Lu, Chow’s mother.
Lu is referring to the City of Ottawa’s redevelopment plan from 2024 to replace Ruby Inn and its neighbours at the corner of Bank Street and Walkley Road with “four high-rise buildings, with heights ranging from 25 to 40 storeys.”
Though Lu says they weren’t given an exact demolition date, their lease was up, so they decided to close instead of remaining open indefinitely and then being forced to close suddenly.
“Even (if we stayed open), it’s not completely guaranteed. And, even if we were to sell it and move, who’s going to buy a lease for potentially a year,” Chow says, adding that it was a really hard decision for the family to make.
But on Sunday, May 24, they taped a piece of paper to their door, letting customers know that June 28 would be their final day in business.
“All of a sudden, the next day, it’s all over Facebook and everyone’s posting about it,” Chow says, adding that it was at this point that he knew Ruby’s last month would be extremely busy.
And he was right. As Chow hands a bag of a dozen egg rolls to a grieving customer, the phone rings — and it doesn’t stop.
Though he’ll have to brace himself for a busy month, Chow says his favourite part of the job, that he’s been doing since he was 14, is the people.
“It’s more than a community. We’d have familiar faces coming in every day, and I didn’t even need to take their order at that point. I already knew their order and their names. It would be more of catching up,” Chow says, the phone ringing again behind him.
Ruby Inn, a takeout-only spot, has been around since 1971, Chow says. Its characteristic red and white flower-patterned wallpaper, very ’70s tile flooring and takeout chairs lining the windows have since become neighbourhood staples.
When its original owner retired in 2011, Chow says his dad — Shenglam Chow, Ruby’s chef — bought it with a group of friends.
His three kids have helped out since, but eventually, in 2016, when they became sole owners, he needed more hands.
Eventually, Lu says she quit her job as a hotel room attendant and stepped in. Now she’s the friendly face that Ruby is known for.
“They’re always so happy and pleasant here. I’ve introduced my children to it, who are adults now, so it’s been since my grandparents, right down to my kids who come here,” said Sara Hallmann, a customer waiting for her order and someone who grew up in the area.
“All my memories since I could walk were coming here with my grandfather to pick it up. It was an exciting time, knowing we were getting Ruby’s for dinner; it was always a special treat,” Hallmann says.
And the feeling is mutual.
“Our customers are like family, you know. When they come to pick up, they tell me their story. I’m just so, so happy with the regular customers,” Lu says as another walks in, exclaiming his sorrow about the loss of Ruby.
But Lu says she wasn’t always comfortable interacting with customers.
“I wasn’t speaking a lot of English before that, but suddenly I needed to do a lot of talking. Before I worked here, I was so shy, even to pick up the phone,” Lu says.
But she says her kids have helped her get over this shyness by working with her at Ruby.
“I’m lucky my children are so happy to help me. That’s what I’m happy with, my family and my kids. They all love me so much,” Lu says, adding that growing up at Ruby has helped her kids, too.
“You have all the different types of customers in the world. My kids have seen every different customer. And now they’re grown up, and I’m so happy to see them grown up. And, when Danny started so young, he used to be really shy, too,” Lu says about her youngest son.
As Chow scrambles around, grabbing a steaming-hot paper bag from a glass doorway cut in the wallpaper, more customers lament the community’s loss as they wait for their dinner.
“It’s sad and frustrating, because family-owned businesses are starting to disappear,” says Jim Elves, who, with his wife Sherri, says they’ve been coming to Ruby Inn steadily since the ’90s.
Chow anticipates the neighbourhood’s loss, too.
“I feel like it’s the same for a lot of other people in our community — you go to this one spot, and you grew up with it, and then when it’s gone you go somewhere else. And that’s not the same; it doesn’t taste the same. Nothing hits it like home,” he says.
In the meantime, dedicated generations of Ruby customers might not be too long without their favourite egg rolls.
“We are potentially looking to get a new location, but nothing’s really working well in this economy, so it’s kind of tough,” Chow says, adding that, for his parents, this is an opportunity for the vacation they’ve never taken.
“Let them relax because life is short.”
