The Stawell Noodle Bar owners have thanked the community for their support over the last nine years, after announcing their restaurant will be closed from Monday, March 15.
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Restaurant owner Heng Yang, also known as James, said he and his family have loved their time in Stawell, but now was the time to step away after and "exhausting" year.
"I can't express how much we appreciate the Stawell people for continuing to support us after nearly nine years have passed," he said.
"We certainly could not survive without the Stawell people's generosity and help.
"Stawell Noodle Bar could not have been as successful without your support. We thank you for the past nine wonderful years. We like to thank everyone for the overwhelming support and patronage."
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James said he and his family had decided to close the business due to their lease ending and the need for a break after a difficult 2020.
"We worked extremely hard over the last few years and I often laugh to myself because I feel I have been working harder than our Prime Minister," he said.
"But years of kitchen work have left me with so many hot oil scars on both my hands and so many injuries on my back, neck and arms.
"2020 was unforgettable and when the pandemic started, like anyone else, we were deeply impacted by the virus, but Stawell people did not dump us, they protect small business in many ways.
"Some customers came to us all the time because they were sick of cooking and some customers spent some good money with us when they had events on at their house.
"In this case when some business in crisis face closing down, we did not have to worry about our bills getting paid."
James also said their elderly neighbour "Mr Gerry" gave the business some money to help them through the difficult time.
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James said the Stawell Noodle Bar would not sit empty, with new owners looking to bring Thai cuisine to the town.
"The new business owners are fully experienced in food business and passionate about Thai cuisine," he said.
"They will bring a new menu to Stawell, and I trust they will be doing much better than us and all the best wishes to them for a very successful in the future."
But after many years in the kitchen, James said now was the right time to move into the next part of his life.
"We were well prepared and confident to carry on the business because we know what we are doing," he said.
"We carried on a restaurant business in Melbourne for many years and we never could imagine how different the lifestyle in the country would be.
"We thought that people who live in the country probably still play with sheep or ride on horse, as matter of fact, we quickly found out we were totally wrong.
"In the modern time, the city lifestyle and country lifestyle doesn't have huge differences because we are all on the internet, but the city is too crowded nowadays and traffic is terrible. In the country, life is easy and quiet.
"Time flies in the blink of eye and time has come so fast I have now reached my retirement age.
"This is the time to change my life direction, slow down and enjoy every day life and pass on the business to the younger and talented people."
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