Chinatown’s Cafe Sanuki Opts to Temporarily Close to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19

Cafe Sanuki originally reopened its dining room for dine-in service with udon noodles, tempura dishes, sushi, and ramen the second week of June, but now owner Henry Fan says he is temporarily closing his Chinatown restaurant after a recent uptick in the number of COVID-19 cases in Nevada, and several people he knows died due to complications of COVID-19.

“As excited as we’ve been to re-open, this past week Nevada has had a spike in recent COVID numbers and we are growing increasingly concerned about the continued spread of illness,” Fan wrote to fans of the restaurant in his newsletter. “Back in my hometown of Chicago, two people that I personally knew in the restaurant industry have just passed away due to COVID. The tragedy of their loss hits home in a new way.”

Fan says as much as he wants to stay open, he feels a responsibility to keep his staff and customers safe.

“This restaurant was started from my passion to offer fresh new take on delicious comfort food. But I feel the health and well being of people is more important than any passion or monetary gains. So with much deep sadness, we decided to go into hibernation,” Fan writes.

He says the restaurant is not closing permanently and will reopen “as quickly as legally allowed.”

Nevada Health Response reports 12,076 COVID-19 cases statewide as of June 18 and 475 deaths since the coronavirus pandemic first started in Nevada in March when the first cases were reported.

• All Coverage of Cafe Sanuki [ELV]

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