08/18/2026
How do you wrap up the legacy of the 56 year old family business? We're not gone yet but Gene's Restaurant is listed for sale. Hard to say when the Closed sign will be turned over for the last time or at least on my watch.
My parents Larry and Rae Gene started the restaurant back in 1970 at 38 Erie Street. They were hard working Chinese immigrants who came to Canada looking for a better life. My work ethic was instilled from them at an early age. I was there on opening day - June 6, 1970. I was 8 years old. I grew up at the restaurant business. I was always there. Would go there for lunch during school and would be there after school. I had chores including washing dishes by hand and prepping vegetables. I made $7 a week! I would go home after supper with my mother as my father stayed back at the restaurant to keep working.
We would relocate to our present location at 81 Ontario Street in 1975 and add the 2nd buffet restaurant House of Gene in 1980 that operated until 2000. I took over the family business in 2004. The Gene name has been a part of Stratford since 1970 or 56 years. My goal was to get the family business to the 50 year mark which was 2020. It was the start of Covid and we limped into that year. The dining room would be closed in March until 2024 and we adapted to the take out only model with reduced hours of 5 days per week and evenings only. We survived and kept this format when the dining room re-opened in 2024. We could potentially continue doing this for the a few more years and we would be okay. But it feels like we are 1 foot in and 1 foot out. We're quite away from the heyday of opening 6 days a week, 11am to midnight (2:30 am Friday and Saturday).
Seeing the customers coming in to dine-in again has been great. We have been seeing people who have been coming in for years. A lot of stories shared - the Donna stories, the stories when they first came into the restaurant with their family, the late night meals on Friday and Saturdays after the bars closed, etc. The stories and memories are endless. Every dining room table I walk by could have about 20 stories I could tell about a customer, a particular staff or also my own family.
We've definitely played the long game in this business. Just slow and steady basically under the radar. Not the superstar restaurant that gets all the attention and we're happy to have served Stratford. Food is what we do. I recall at the at the start of Covid having a conversation with Derek at Chocolate Barrs and trying to figure out if our businesses were "Essential". In my mind "people don't NEED to eat Chinese food" and I thought for him no way he was essential as "people don't NEED to eat chocolate"! lol I figured both of our businesses would screwed on this deal. Luckily the government determined we were part of the food chain and Chinese food and Chocolate are essential!
The power of food - Food brings happiness. It brings people together. It creates memories. I talk to so many people and they will have a story related to our restaurant. Might be a family gathering like having our food for Christmas Eve or they used to come in with their grandparents. There a lot of memories created in 56 years! If we have ever created happiness because of our food then I'm content that we've done our job and I'm satisfied that I've served this community well. I was born and raised in Stratford. The Gene Family thanks you for your support throughout the years.
Don't know when we will actually close. Could take a while. Don't know with these things. Anyway our first Christmas Eve pre-order already came in July! So it's business as usual for now.
And that's the way the Egg Rolls!
