Ming’s Garden Chinese Restaurant in Bucksport is under new ownership as of this month following the retirement of its longtime proprietor.
The restaurant opened in 1997 and has been at its current Main Street location for more than two decades. It changed hands April 1, according to social media postings.
It’s another shift in Bucksport’s downtown restaurant landscape, which has seen numerous businesses close, open or change hands in recent years.
The restaurant was started by Jin Ming Chen, according to his 2020 obituary. His wife, Xu Juan Cui, known as Sally, continued to work there with her family until last month.
She declined an interview request, and the new owners did not return requests for comment about their plans. Her children said on the restaurant’s Facebook page that it will remain a Chinese restaurant.
The town granted a liquor license for the location to Lu & Li, Inc., with Mei Yun Li listed as a contact on a municipal document.
The new owners added online ordering, according to the restaurant’s social media page, but haven’t announced menu changes or name changes.
“We are truly blessed to have started the business in this community and grow old with all of you,” the previous owners wrote when announcing the change of ownership last month, saying customers had become like family members over the years.
