Editor’s note: From Oct. 1-8, we’ll be featuring each of the winners from the eight categories of the Owensboro Times Eat Down the Street Competition. The championship week of the voting competition will begin Oct. 11, when eight finalists will face off for the title of the overall favorite local restaurant. Today, we feature Chop Stick Chinese Hibachi Grill, which was voted as the favorite local international restaurant.
Chop Stick Chinese Hibachi Grill, one of the longest-standing restaurants along KY 54, strives to provide great service with a small but dedicated staff.
Ben Jiang, who is the son of the owners of the restaurant, said the family business only has about 20 people on staff. So, they try to offer a personal experience.
“We only have like, less than 20 or 25 employees at a given time, so I mean it’s really like if our customers were coming to our house,” Jiang said.
When the pandemic hit, Chop Stick found themselves with an emptier dining room like other restaurants. They even closed for about a month due to difficulties with the food supplier, as they were struggling to get the meat and vegetables for their typical meals.
During that time, Jiang said his mom would get messages from regulars asking when they would open and talking about how much they were missed. Once the restaurant reopened, business came back strong as the regulars came back — even if it was just to-go orders.
Jiang said that the thing that keeps the customers coming back besides the food is how comfortable they feel when they come in.
“People really supported us and this restaurant would not exist if it wasn’t for the people in the town,” Jiang said.
Jiang said he is thankful for the community’s continuous support, especially as KY 54 has grown and developed from where it was compared to about 15 years ago.
