Residents of High River had to wait 100 days last summer for one of their favourite restaurants to open.
However, it would take more than biggest natural disaster in Canadian history to stop Judy Seto from opening the doors of the Golden National restaurant.
“We were closed for 100 days because of the flood,” said Judy Seto, who owns the Golden National Family Restaurant with her husband Joe. “We never thought of closing — we wanted to get over the rough times and open.”
It turns out the customers were more than willing to wait 100 days.
“I was very lucky because of our regular customers came back and we also got some new customers,” Judy said. “I had people telling me: ‘We cannot wait to see you open again.’”
The Golden National was voted second best restaurant in High River in the 2014 Best of the Foothills readers’ survey.
Joe and Judy Seto came to High River in 1995, after being restaurateurs in Red Deer and Acme.
They have never looked back.
“I love High River,” Judy said. “When I first came here, the people of High River made me feel so welcomed and they were so friendly.”
It turned out the people loved the food at Golden National as much as the Setos love the community.
The kitchen is kept spotless and the vegetables are fresh. The three chefs have several years of experience of preparing Chinese cuisine.
“Our war won ton soup, ginger beef and the Thai chicken are favourites,” Judy said. (‘The beef in black bean sauce’ bellowed a customer at the till.)
It is not just people from the Foothills who have kicked up a storm about the food at the Golden National.
“Jackie Chan was here all the time in 1999 when he was filming Shanghai Noon in Longview,” Judy said.
For more information go to goldennational.ca
