Honey Bee restaurant set to close after 43 years of serving the Beach

By Alan Shackleton

A MUCH-LOVED part of the community through five decades, the Honey Bee Chinese Food Restaurant on Queen Street East in the Beach is closing at the end of this month.

Michael Lau, who has owned the restaurant for the more than 43 years it has been in business, said the reason for the closure is that he has decided to retire.

The last day the restaurant will be open is Tuesday, Feb. 28.

Lau, 72, first opened the Honey Bee at 2208 Queen St. E. in 1980. Seven years ago, the Honey Bee’s location moved a little bit west to where the restaurant is presently located at 1978 Queen St. E., just west of Waverley Road.

“The reason is I’m retiring at the end of the month. After 43 years I am deciding I am done working,”

Lau told Beach Metro Community News in an interview last week.

“The lease is expiring and I think it’s time. I’ve been thinking about it for a few years and I decided I don’t want to work anymore.”

Lau said the reason for the closure has nothing to do with the rent he is paying at the building or any issues with the landlord.

He said he believes that a sushi shop will be moving into the location sometime in the future.

Lau lives in the Beach near Woodbine Avenue. He used to live over the original restaurant at 2208 Queen St. E., and he also owned that building. When Lau sold the building seven years ago he moved the restaurant further west and rented the present location.

He has lived in the Beach since he opened the restaurant, and his family grew up in the neighbourhood with all five children going to local schools – either Kew Beach or Williamson Road/Glen Ames.

At the age of 29, when he first opened the restaurant, Lau admitted he did not know too much about the Beach neighbourhood but he is glad he decided to relocate here from where he had been living in the north Toronto area. Lau first came to Canada from Hong Kong in 1975.

“It’s been a very good neighbourhood,” he said of the Beach. “It’s been a good place to work and my family has grown up here.”

While Lau has not yet put up a sign out front letting the community know this is their last month, he said he is telling customers who come in.

“They are very sad to hear it,

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Black History Month celebration set for Eastview Community Centre

EASTVIEW NEIGHBOURHOOD

Community Centre will be hosting a Black History Month event this Sunday.

The Black Heritage in Motion celebration will bring youth from across Toronto together to celebrate the positive experiences and achievements of their peers, said organizer Anthony Fagan who is a Youth Outreach Worker with the centre and the Eastview Toronto BGC (Boys and Girls Club).

Featured at the Feb. 26 event will be a documentary, performers, a fashion show, displays and a dinner. The event is for youth ages 13 to 20 and all community members are invited to attend.

Sunday’s celebrations have been organized by a community youth planning group.

“Our youth program is designed for youth of diverse ethnic back-

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ground who are presently unconnected to social recreational youth programs. We support the development of leadership and youth empowerment,” said Fagan.

Eastview Neighbourhood Community Centre is located at 86 Blake St., in the Jones and Danforth avenues area. Sunday’s celebration takes place from 1 to 4 p.m.

To reserve free tickets and for further information, please contact Fagan by email at Anthonyfagan@ eastviewcentre.com or by phone at 416 392 1750 x 310.

BEACH METRO COMMUNITY NEWS 50TH ANNIVERSARY 1972•2022