Characters of the Village

Steve & Ling Lu—Golden Woks

By Joy and Brian Pape

When a business is able to tough it out for over 30 years in the Village, that means it is part of the Village character. When the owners serve the community for that long, they are also Characters of the Village. This is a story about one such business­—which is also our favorite Chinese take-out restaurant, Christopher Golden Woks at 159 Christopher Street. Now, let’s get to know the proprietors, Steve and Ling Lu. Here’s what Steve had to say about their Village experience.

Tell us how you happened to be here in the West Village.

My wife Ling and I were both born in Fuzhou, China and we immigrated to the U.S. in 1992 with our parents, but we each came separately. We came to America for a better life. Our families live in Queens and we do too. My mother now lives in Chinatown.

Ling and I met at a social gathering in Queens shortly after we got to NY. We got married in 1993 here in NYC and became citizens in the late 1990s. My brother already ran a restaurant in Chelsea, so I went to work with him at that time. That’s when his landlord said he had another good space on Christopher Street for a new restaurant, so we opened up here. Thirty one years later, we are still here.

We have three children, now ages 29, 24, and 21. When they had all left for college, Ling started working with me at the restaurant, and sometimes, my children would help. Now only my youngest works here on Saturdays.

What was it like during and after the pandemic?

We had to close down completely for six weeks, just like every other business. We couldn’t get supplies. So until things started opening up, I would drive to three of four places in Queens and Chinatown daily to pick up what was needed. It was crazy!

When we reopened, it was delivery only, then slowly we set up for distance take-out, and we are still not quite up to the amount of business we had before. So many of the nearby office workers now work remotely. But people tell us they really like our food, prices, and service.

What is your favorite thing about your job?

I love the people here in the Village! I’ve seen the kids grow up and watched people grow older. They’ve always been very friendly. After the pandemic, everyone was so welcoming to us and encouraging. Especially in bad weather, customers are very appreciative and tip our delivery workers generously.

How do you handle holidays and parade days?

We stay open every day except for Thanksgiving Day; that’s our special family day. Parade days can be very crowded, but everyone knows us, and they make sure their friends are careful around us so we can work. We haven’t had problems, so we can stay open.

Do you get vacations?

We haven’t taken vacations in years. You have to be around to run a restaurant; you never know when something is needed.

Where are your favorite places around the Village?

The Golden Woks because I see all the nice people!

Why are you calling this Golden Woks rather than Christopher Golden Woks?

It’s still Christopher Golden Woks, but our customers tell us that name is too long, so we just call it Golden Woks. See? We listen to our customers.

That’s yet another reason we chose you to be Characters of the Village. Thank you for your love of our community and great service!

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