End of an Era: Michael's Noodles

This is a little over due but I've been meaning to write this since we closed a few weeks ago. On March 31, 2017, our family restaurant, Michael's Noodles closed for good. It was a bittersweet ending as I will miss the free delicious food but I am happy for my mom as she no longer has to deal with the stress of owning a restaurant.

Many people don't know the amount of effort it takes into own a restaurant. Growing up, many people assumed my family was rich because we owned a restaurant and in all honesty it frustrated me because they had no idea how hard my parents worked. My parents worked 6 days a week, 10-12 hour days including weekends. Our old restaurant in Virginia was closed Mondays but Michael's Noodles was open 7 days a week, 365 days a year. My parents had to make many sacrifices to provide for our family and weren't able to go to certain things like my basketball games when I was growing up. We also didn't have the "typical" family dinners as they were always working late and didn't get home until 10 PM. I never faulted them because they were setting an example of hard work and setting the foundation for how I should provide for my family in the future. I also occasionally went on yelp to read reviews and some really frustrated me as many of these people fail to realize that we aren't a chain and a bad review can be damaging for a single family owned restaurant.

I ate at Michael's Noodles the day before we closed with Ashley, Gary, Janet and also worked there the last day. I learned just how big of an impact our seemingly small restaurant had on the Rockville/Gaithersburg community. Many people brought my mom flowers, gifts, gave her hugs and some people even cried! It was really touching to see how much of an impact our restaurant had on people's lives.

My mom is the hardest working person I know, she hasn't taken a formal vacation in years (she will soon, don't worry I'll make her). She has set an example for me in how I should provide for my family and I realize should never complain about working 40 hours a week. I may not tell her this enough but my mom is truly one of my heroes, not only has set an example in terms of work ethic but also in terms of being a parent with her unconditional and selfless love for her kids.

I also wanted to thank all of you who ate at our restaurant through the years. It really does mean a lot to my family as there are TONS of Chinese restaurants in the area to choose from.

My mom and I on closing day, March 31, 2017

My Grandfather working at our restaurant, Shanghai Restaurant in Virginia 

My Michael's Noodles memorabilia from when we were featured in the Washington Post