The Mandalay Cantonese restaurant — downtown site of countless banquets and celebrations — almost became a victim of the coronavirus Opens in a new tab, but the owners’ six children talked them out of closing their doors forever.

Owners Larry and Linda Chan shut town for two months, but reopened two days ago, offering express lunches and takeout orders.

Their daughters, Christina Chan and Melissa Cardenas in particular, persuaded them not to give up on such a dismal note, after working so hard for over 40 years in Hawaii’s food industry. The couple once owned four Eastern Garden restaurants, which they closed in 2005 to open the Mandalay a year later.

When her parents talked about selling the restaurant, Cardenas said she and her five siblings stepped up and said: “You can’t do that; we know it’s hard, but we’re going to make it work.” They all grew up seeing how devoted their parents were to their business, she said. “It really is emotional for us.”

They had talked of closing the Mandalay a few years ago, when their mother suffered a stroke. “But my mom is crazy because she loves the restaurant, and wouldn’t stay home when we told her to,” said Cardenas, a U.S. Navy lieutenant now stationed at Pearl Harbor.

Even now, her mother, weighing not much more than 100 pounds, is able to carry 50 pounds of banquet dishes at a time, she added.

CARDENAS AND her sister Christina, who has helped her parents manage the business since it opened 14 years ago, suggested improvements to the operation and marketing, including online ordering (to be available in a few weeks), and applying for a federal stimulus loan. Cardenas said her brother, Michael Chan, a paramedic, has been helping to deep-clean the restaurant, and her other siblings contribute in whatever ways they can.

While the state has allowed restaurants to start dine-in service Friday, Larry Chan said the Mandalay will stick with takeout, observing how things go with other restaurants that do open their dining rooms.

Once he does fully reopen, he’ll have no problem spacing tables 6 feet apart to meet social distancing requirements, as the two-story restaurant has a seating capacity of 350.

Chan, who ran his own auto air-conditioning service in Kaimuki for years on top of running their restaurants, said the last two months of uncertainty have been a nightmare. Their initial takeout business was so sluggish, they closed after a couple of weeks and thought of moving on, he said.

THAT’S WHEN their children intervened, so he and his wife decided to give it another try. “We were brought up to keep busy, and not be afraid to work hard — it’s our life,” he said.

They also had to consider the fate of longtime employees, who depend on the restaurant for employment. Several are holdovers from their Eastern Garden restaurants and have become like family, he said.

Both from Hong Kong, the Chans have held jobs in Chinese restaurants since their teens. They met in Hawaii and married in 1973. Their first Eastern Garden in Kaimuki opened in 1980, followed by locations in Aiea’s West Ridge Center, Waikiki and Kaneohe.

But it became overwhelming, and the Chans decided to close their restaurants in 2005 and consolidate. About that time, the owners of Yong Sing restaurant approached the couple to buy their downtown building, leading to the 2006 opening of the more upscale Mandalay.

The restaurant’s top sellers include Peking duck and honey-walnut shrimp, and on the Hong Kong-style dim sum menu, it’s the shrimp dumplings. Takeout orders include regular entrees and dim sum Mondays through Saturdays, and express lunches on weekdays.

Chan said regulars were calling every day asking when the restaurant would reopen. “I really appreciate it,” he said. “We have some great customers.”

He said he doubts restaurants will ever return to pre-pandemic normal, before social distancing and masks became mandatory, “but we’ll take it one step at a time.”

Cardenas said only time will tell how the Mandalay will fare and how the staff will cope, but it’s worth the risk. “We believe they can still push through it, and all of us are here to help.”

MANDALAY

1055 Alakea St.

525-8585, mandalayhawaii.com Opens in a new tab

>> Express lunch: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays; includes one to three entree choices and daily specials; $7.95 to $9.95

>> Regular menu: Takeout and dim sum, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays; catering also available