After teetering on the brink of closing, a prominently located Oak Park Chinese restaurant appears to be safe for the future.
Owner David Chung put Szechwan Beijing and the two-story building that it’s located in at 1107 South Blvd. up for sale in December. Unable to get a bank to extend his loan on the building, Chung was racing against the clock to sell the property before his bank foreclosed.
But the bank sent Chung a notice earlier this month, which he signed last week, extending his mortgage by six months. After that, Chung hopes they can extend the loan for at least another five years, as they’ve been doing since the restaurant opened 17 years ago. Chung bought the building in 1993, and spent $1 million to convert it from a health club to a restaurant.
“We’re going to stay, that’s for sure,” Chung said. “I just want to let all my customers and patrons know we’re going to stay here, and to keep supporting us.”
-Marty Stempniak