THUNDER BAY – FOOD – “We are happy that the system works and that, as a result, our patrons were not adversely affected by the actions of Toronto Seafood’s delivery of food products to our restaurant, China House.” These were the words spoken by local restaurateur Steven Li of China House, in a statement issued to media on Wednesday, September 24 2014.
The company is responding to some recent media reports regarding the Thunder Bay District Health Unit’s concern for goods delivered to the restaurant by a Toronto food service company that was reportedly not complying with Ontario Health regulations pertaining to the transport of refrigerated food.
“We are open for business. This is the message that we would like our customers to hear. In fact, we were never closed, as we fully and completely complied with the order as soon as we were approached by the TBDHU. Unfortunately, the resulting loss in business is having a serious impact on the viability of our restaurant. It is unfortunate that our company name was mentioned in a situation that did not have anything to do with our company or its practices,” stated Li.
“We are grateful to the Thunder Bay District Health Unit and the Durham District Health Unit for their due diligence and discovery of the issue and for the abundance of caution they exercised in removing the goods from circulation, which we at China House, of course, fully complied with,” Li added. “The order was issued by the TBDHU and deals with the distributor in question, Toronto Seafood Inc”.
Mr. Li stated “Orders from Toronto Seafood only makes up a small percentage of China House’s inventory and that the company was a fairly new supplier. We understand that we were not the only restaurant in Ontario to receive goods from this company and since the order was frozen when received by our staff, we had no reason to suspect any improprieties in the company’s delivery system. Regardless, we immediately complied with the TBDHU’s order, as we were concerned about any potential risk that could have been posed to our loyal patrons.”
“Evidently,” said Li, “Media reports that circulated soon after the order was issued were misconstrued by our customers as being a problem with our restaurant itself and not the supplier. This has resulted in a significant drop in business and significantly tarnished our company’s reputation which has had an exemplary Health and Safety inspection record for our entire seven years in business in the Thunder Bay market. We are concerned how this might affect our business as well as our 10 employees.”
“We are extremely proud of our restaurant and the service we have provided to Thunder Bay and the region over the years. We want customers to know that we adhere strictly to all health regulations from the Province of Ontario, augmented further by our own regimen of safety procedures and precautions.”
“We are inviting our customers to return and visit us again. As a sign of loyalty to our customers, we are offering a special Golden Week promotional price in honour of China’s on our lunch and dinner buffet menu for the next week. Our Golden Week lunch buffet will be available for $6.95 and our dinner buffet will be $10.95. It is our way of thanking those who have stood by during this difficult time and encouraging everyone to come back and enjoy the China House experience once again.”
China House is located at 1186 Memorial Avenue, in the McIntyre Centre across from Intercity Mall.