One of Denver’s Most Beloved Chinese Restaurants Is Closing

“Mom is always right.” That’s one of the house rules posted in the dining room at 25-year-old Lao Wang Noodle House. Others include: Wait to be seated, no second orders, and don’t make a mess. While some raise their eyebrows at these requests, dumpling-loving Denverites respect the commands to enjoy Lao Wang’s unmatched potstickers, lu rou mian (noodles with braised pork), and other Taiwanese dishes—all made by matriarch and owner Chun-Ming Wang (aka Mom).

But 84-year-old Chun-Ming—who runs the South Federal Boulevard restaurant with the help of her son, Danny, and his partner, Frances—will hang up her apron in mid-February. The Wangs don’t plan to renew the space’s lease, which is up next month, so Lao Wang Noodle House will serve its final plate of dumplings on February 15.

While Chun-Ming is still “going strong,” Danny says operating the business has been challenging since Tse-Ming, the family patriarch and the restaurant’s co-owner, died in 2021 at the age of 76. After Tse-Ming’s death, Chun-Ming continued to churn out baskets of steaming xiaolongbao, crispy bottomed pot stickers, and chile-oil-slicked wontons using her husband’s handwritten recipes and locally-made wrappers from nearby Kwan Sang Noodle Co. When Danny and Frances can’t help out at the restaurant, Chun-Ming manages everything solo, cooking food, serving tables, and interacting with customers.

“Sometimes [Frances and I] aren’t able to be there because we have our own projects,” says Danny, who works in the craft beer industry. “So, it’s tough for Mom. The environment for restaurants is also not kind right now, especially in Denver, with rising costs and wages and everything.”

In 1999, Tse-Ming and Chun-Ming opened Lao Wang, which translates to “Elder Wang” in Chinese, to serve the cuisine of their homeland. They moved to the United States from Taiwan in 1985 and worked in Chinese restaurants in Denver before deciding to establish their own. “They found this location, slapped a coat of paint on it and opened their doors with very little fanfare,” Danny said in a 2021 interview with Best Served, a podcast and blog that discusses the hospitality industry. “And they barely scraped by the first couple of years. The restaurant survived those early days, and the rest is history.”

Over the years, Lao Wang became known for its homestyle fare, bare-bones ambience—the red- and yellow-walled dining room has very little decor and only a handful of tables—and no-frills service. When former associate food editor Ethan Pan heard a rumor that Lao Wang served store-bought dumplings that it billed as homemade, he asked Chun-Ming in Mandarin Chinese if the speculations were true. She replied by showing him her hands, which are worn from pleating dough for decades. “She said something to the effect of ‘Look at my hands, obviously I made these dumplings,’ ” Pan remembers.

While the Wangs are bidding farewell to Lao Wang’s current location, they’re looking for ways to revive the concept in a different form. Danny has connected with potential collaborators in the past but nothing has panned out. “We hate to see [the restaurant] go—but I hope it’s temporary,” he says.

While Chun-Ming will miss seeing longtime customers she calls friends at what’s been her second home for 25 years, she is relieved that Danny is looking for opportunities to bring Lao Wang’s food back. “ I know [Mom] likes to move around, so we’re trying to figure out what to do with her when she’s not in the restaurant every day,” Danny says.

Because Mom is always right, we’re sure this won’t be the final chapter of Chun-Ming’s dumpling-slinging story.

Read More: 20 of Denver’s Best Chinese Restaurants

Lao Wang Noodle House is located at 945 S. Federal Blvd. The final day of service will be February 15.