Southend Pearl Dragon owners bid farewell to restaurant

The Pearl Dragon, on Eastern Esplanade, had its final day of service under the control of the Yeung family on Sunday after more than four decades.

First opened in 1978 by Yuen Yeung, who noticed a gap in the market in Southend for Chinese cuisine, the business was later taken over by his children who announced their retirement two weeks ago following great success. 

Goodbye - The front of house team on the last day of service by the Yeung family (Image: Steve Yeung)

The restaurant has been closed before reopening under the ownership of a London restaurateur on Wednesday, who aims to keep the Pearl Dragon's reputation alive in the city. 

Steve, 52, has reflected on a busy two weeks which has seen the business swamped with bookings and guests eager to say goodbye to the family.

He said: "We have had two weeks of just solid, busy service and everybody who was a regular, everyone who has been with us, all wanted to say goodbye. 

Family - Sara, John and Steve Yeung, Kim and Luke Tilly, Tony and Linda Law (Image: Steve Yeung)

"The phone lines were crazy, they just did not stop ringing to the point where we couldn't answer the phones, we had to put a note up to try and calm it down a  bit, we had to turn people around.

"We were completely overwhelmed with the response, it was much more than we could have ever hoped for, we were just gobsmacked and unprepared for the support we got and the sheer amount of well wishes." 

The Pearl Dragon will be keeping the same name when it re-opens and offering the same food which has helped it become so well known.

Steve added: "What was amazing is we had around six or seven customers who said they had been there for our first day and had now been there for the last."

Though the rest of Steve's family have now retired, he will be staying on for a few more months to ensure the "smooth transition" of the business.