China Panda has been serving the Morris Community for more than 10 years, and now, owners Angel Li and Feng Lin are passing the baton to a new owner.
As of September 1, Angel’s brother, Feng Li, and his wife, Xiu Hong Yan, are the new owners of China Panda.
Though the ownership has changed, Feng Li and Xiu Hong Yan say that customers can still expect the same menu and service they’ve come to know.
Feng Li and Xiu Hong Yan have worked at the Morris China Panda for a few years, and this will be their first time owning a business. Only a couple of weeks into their ownership, they say that the experience is going well. September is typically a slower month for China Panda, but as Autumn begins and then transitions to the holiday season, it is expected to get busier.
Angel said that she hopes the community will continue to support the new owners during this transition. Feng Li and Xiu Hong Yan are not native English speakers, and Angel said she also hopes the community will be patient as they continue to learn and become comfortable with the language.
Though no longer the owners, Angel and Feng Lin are continuing to help out at the restaurant during this transition.
Angel and Feng Lin have decided to sell their business to take care of their young daughter. They have two older children who have been helpers, but they are now away at college.
As for future plans, Angel and Feng are planning to take a break for a little while.
Stevens County Economic Improvement Commission (SCEIC) Executive Director Cheryl Kuhn said that Angel and Feng both have a true entrepreneurial spirit within them.
China Panda first opened in Morris in 2015. Angel recalls that when they first opened, they hadn’t anticipated how busy they would be, and ran out of food for three days. They had to close while they restocked their supplies before they could open back up again.
Since then, the couple has experienced incredible support from the community.
A few years into business, Angel and Feng decided to sell their restaurant in Glenwood to her older brother and buy a house in Morris.
When they first came to Morris, Angel said she thought that they would only be part of the community as business owners, but quickly felt that they were welcomed with open arms. “I’m here, I’m not going anywhere,” Angel said.
When they’ve been away or when they needed help with childcare at the last minute, neighbors have been eager to step in and help.
“We really appreciate the community,” Angel said. “I hope the community will continue to support.”
Last year, when they closed the restaurant for a month during the summer to return to China, Angel said she wasn’t sure how customers would respond to that, but they were met with great support.
This summer, when they closed again for a month to return to China, they knew they would be eagerly welcomed back when they arrived home.
Upon their return, Angel said the phone was ringing off the hook with orders. “It felt like they were waiting for me!” she said.
The customers haven’t been the only support system over the last decade, Angel said, but they have also had great long-term employees, adding that having the University of Minnesota Morris in town has helped garner more business and a larger pool for employees.
Throughout their time in the community, Angel has worked with the SCEIC to make business moves. Through her work with her banker, she was able to connect with the SCEIC, and she says she doesn’t know what would have happened had she not been able to make that connection.
Now, their loan through the SCEIC has been paid in full, and last week, Kuhn and SCEIC Office Manager Ava Weber presented Angel and Feng with the paid-in-full promissory note.
Since opening China Panda, Angel has not done much advertising, instead opting for donations to local organizations when asked. “They support us, we support what they need,” she said.
Since first moving to the United States 25 years ago, Angel said that people have been kind, open, and big-hearted, which has made her feel comfortable here.
