Cathay Palisades to Close Its Doors After 30 Years

By MAGNOLIA LAFLEUR | Reporter

After serving Pacific Palisades for the past 33 years, Cathay Palisades is being forced to close its doors.

Cathay Palisades is owned by David Leung and has been a go-to for Palisadians, young and old, since January 1989.

Topa Property Management approached Cathay Palisades in October and gave the restaurant two months to vacate the property. The Leungs said they were caught off guard and requested more time via email.

They were granted a six-month extension, with a move-out date currently slated for June 30.

“We are shocked and dismayed,” Audrey Leung, David’s wife and back-office manager of Cathay Palisades, said to the Palisadian-Post. “After paying your rent on time for 33 years you never expect to be thrown out.

“They said, ‘It’s nothing personal, it’s just business.’ … We don’t understand as we have paid on time and have never … ever paid late. We even offered to pay 50% more, on top of what we pay, I think a reasonable offer. They said no to that and no to giving us three to four months past June. They said we were not a tenant mix. That’s the term they kept using, tenant mix.”

According to Tenant Science, the phrase “tenant mix” refers to “a collection of tenants [that] help maximize sales traffic, which would in turn increase the sales revenue of the tenants.”

Topa Property Management did not respond to requests for comment as the Post went to print Tuesday evening

David was born in Hong Kong and immigrated to the United States in 1983. He opened Cathay Palisades after a customer approached him while he worked in Santa Monica at Panda Inn, and suggested that he start his own restaurant in the Palisades.

“He’s pretty sad about it,” Audrey said about her husband. “It’s his baby. He has wonderful relationships with a lot of people here … All the customers are his friends. He’s seen kids grow up and then bring their own kids here. He knows his customers so well that he knows who they are just from what they order.

“For him, it’s very sad that all his work has come to nothing.”

Upon learning that her favorite Chinese restaurant was closing, longtime customer Didi Reuben took to social network Nextdoor to rally support for Cathay Palisades.

“Thirty-three years ago I walked into the space where Cathay Palisades was still building its restaurant,” Reuben told the Post. “There was dust everywhere, chairs stacked up, no tables, wires hanging from the ceiling, ladders and technicians connecting things, tools on the floor … David Leung was running around supervising everyone and I could tell he was the owner. I went up to him with my white knee-high boots, which he always reminds me of, and said, ‘Hello. I’m ready to order.’ And I’ve been ordering ever since, once a week.

“Cathay Palisades is not only my treasure, it’s this entire community’s treasure. David has worked so hard to create a business that has flourished and that has become a landmark in the Palisades.”

The Leungs said they hope the Palisades community can help them find a new home in town, with the hope to find a closing restaurant and take over the lease.

“If anyone out there can think of, or who has a small space on the ground floor of a building in the Palisades that David could use for take out and delivery, that person would be this community’s hero,” Reuben added.

“We would not consider going anywhere else, the strings that we have are tied to this community, if we go too far from them, we lose that relationship and advantage,” Audrey said. “If it doesn’t work out, we will just close but we desperately want to stay here, connected. David feels that it’s like one big family, there’s a warmth and support.”

Updates about Cathay Palisades will be posted on their website cathaypalisades.com and Instagram at @cathaypalisades.To reach the Leungs, contact cathaypalisades@gmail.com.