Toronto restaurant loved for its Canadian Chinese food shuts down after 30 years

A Chinese-Canadian restaurant in Toronto that shares its name with a Madonna song is closing down after 30 years.

Lucky Star was humble but loved by many during its time in business, selling popular comfort food items like sweet and sour pork, peanut chicken, wonton soup and noodles for low prices.

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when I heard that Lucky Star was closing down, I knew I had to head over for one last lunch special 😊. After 20 years in that location, he’s heading for a well deserved retirement 👏. He & his family worked so hard all the time to serve us and they’ll be missed. He even had 5 seconds of fame in a national beer commercial a few years ago. I remember once when a few of us at work went to pick up lunch during the break between Christmas & New Years and he was so apologetic because he had to raise his prices - by 25 cents... to $6.85 😳. Enjoy your well-deserved retirement and you will be missed in the neighbourhood! #luckystar #chineserestaurant #neighborhood #goodeats #retirement #anotheronebitesthedust #thanksforthememories

A post shared by Larry LeFebour (@breadbylarry) on May 30, 2020 at 9:59am PDT

The family-run restaurant could not be reached for comment, but May 30 was their last day as people on social media posted about rushing to get their last orders in.

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My final meal from Lucky Star, just good cheap eats! They’re retiring after 30yrs! Lucky bastards! #canadianchinesefood

A post shared by richrenaud (@richrenaud) on May 30, 2020 at 5:36pm PDT

According to Richard Renaud, a frequent Lucky Star customer for the past eight years and self-proclaimed huge fan of the establishment, he says that the best part of visiting Lucky Star were the owners who made it a comforting and welcoming place.

Late Friday night eats every week with coworkers and special deals with generous portions were some of his most fond memories.

"I felt an immediate sense of loss," he said when finding out they were closing a few weeks ago. "But, I understood it was their choice to close their shop and not because of COVID, so I was happy for them."

Part of the fabric of the Riverside community, prior to the pandemic the Chinese-Canadian joint was often packed during busy lunchtimes.