Beloved restaurateur who helped introduce Chinese food to central Pa. dies at 76

Beloved Lancaster County restaurateur Tony Wang's life story — which included fleeing the Communist takeover in China and establishing one of the first and most popular Chinese restaurants in the region — has come to an end.

Wang, who closed his Tony' Wang's restaurant on Route 30 near Tanger Outlets in 2020 because of disruptions from the pandemic as well as his own health problems, died early Friday evening at the age of 76 at Hospice & Community Care near Mount Joy, according to his wife, Patricia Wang, who said the cause was throat cancer.

Tony Wang was a toddler when his family fled to Taiwan from mainland China as communists took over in 1949. In Taiwan, Wang became an interior designer and played bass in a rock band before moving in 1979 to New York City where he joined some friends in operating a Chinese restaurant near the United Nations.

Seeking a place with less competition and cheaper rent, Wang and his partners moved to Lancaster County, opening Tom Chang's restaurant in East Lampeter Township in 1982 and becoming one of the first Chinese restaurants in the area. Over the next nearly 40 years, Wang would find his home on the Lancaster restaurant scene where he became a smiling, polite fixture, including at his namesake restaurant, which he operated for 28 years at the original Tom Chang's location at 2217 Lincoln Highway East, across from Tanger Outlets.

"I'm very proud of him. He is such a good man," said Patricia Wang, who spent many years working alongside Tony at the restaurant and then helped care for him through his illness. "He's done so much for other people and I'm sure I'm going to hear about it later."

Patricia Wang said her husband's generosity included not charging customers who had come from a funeral and giving deep discounts to others. "Police were half price, and the priests and ministers were free," she said.

A tireless and devoted restaurateur, Tony Wang turned his 65-seat restaurant in a small strip mall into the place locals and visiting tourists came to know as a spot for authentic Chinese cuisine and friendly service.

"That's where you went for Chinese food," said Ray Hottenstein, the former longtime owner of Greenfield Restaurant & Bar in East Lampeter township who befriended Tony Wang and recalls eating often at Wang's restaurant. "When I hear of General Tsao's chicken, I always think of Tony Wang. When I try it other places, it never tastes the same."

Hottenstein, a past president and board member of the state restaurant association, said Tony Wang and his partners were truly pioneers in introducing Chinese food to Lancaster County. Hottenstein recalled Wang as a solicitous host who also hosted lavish parties for Chinese holidays.

"What a great guy," Hottenstein said. "He gave a lot of Lancastrians a lot of great memories and a lot of great food.

Hottenstein's son, Rafe, who is executive chef at Josephine's in downtown Lancaster, recalls that Wang is the one who taught him to use chopsticks when he was around 5 years old.

"I literally remember that about him all the time," said Rafe Hottenstein, who also remembers picking up frozen egg wrappers from Wang that he would get for Greenfield Restaurant.

"It was always, 'the next day," Rafe Hottenstein said about when Wang would say the wrappers were ready. "He was a dependable guy."

Rafe Hottenstein said Wang's approach to the restaurant business is a model for being successful as a nonfranchise owner with a single location.

"You've got to develop relationships, that's what Tony did. You've got to treat your customers right, that's what he did. You've got to make friends with him, and that's what he did," Rafe Hottenstein said.