Chinese Restaurant Looks to Survive in Brooklyn Center Strip Mall
For the past 41 years, anyone in Brooklyn center looking to satisfy their craving for Chinese food has made their way to House of Hui.
“The food is reasonable, and it’s very good, delicious,” said Alfred Bangura, a customer. “I love the shrimp fried rice and the chicken fried rice.”
Another customer concurred.
“[They] have the house fried rice. Phenomenal. Pork, shrimp, chicken. It’s phenomenal,” said John Evenson. “And I’ve been coming here, like I said, for 40 years.”
Forty years is a long time to frequent a restaurant, which means the family that runs the business — and cooks all the food — must be doing something right.
Jimmy Hui is the longtime owner. He opened the business in 1983 using recipes passed down from his grandfather.
“Yeah, I like to do the business here,” Hui said.
The restaurant is not only famous for its food, but for traditional dance performances they put together every year to celebrate the Chinese New Year.
Longtime owner Jimmy Hui shows off freshly-prepared chicken in the kitchen. House of Hui is located at 6822 Humboldt Ave. N. in Brooklyn Center.
Adapting to Changes
Yet, the business model has changed over the years as customer habits have evolved.
“Before, it’s more sit-down,” said Hui. “Now it’s more takeout.”
That’s not the only thing that’s changed.
The Humboldt Square Shopping Center, where House of Hui is located, has several vacancies, including the recent closure of longtime staple, Scoreboard Pizza.
Evenson, a frequent House of Hui customer, used to work at Scoreboard.
“A lot of people, when they saw the riots and the way the news portrayed it, they were afraid to come down here,” he said. “Is it safe? Are we gonna get mugged?”
The hope for everyone at House of Hui is to overcome the negative perception of the neighborhood, and the vacancies in this strip mall. Instead, they want to show that you can still get a delicious meal prepared by folks who’ve shown their commitment to Brooklyn Center.
“Yeah, I’ve never had a bad dish here, honestly,” Evenson said.
Beef with broccoli is one of the popular dishes at House of Hui.
Related: Brooklyn Center Scoreboard Pizza Closes
