CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
The Greater Sydney lockdown has claimed another cultural insititution overnight, as the iconic Golden Century Seafood Restaurant in Chinatown announces that it has gone into administration after 31 years.
The 24-hour Chinese restaurant – known for its colourful patronage of bikies, Labor MPs, union heavies and rock stars – was unable to withstand the relentless restrictions put in place by the state government to prevent the spread of this virus.
While a treasured long lunch destination for the Sydney’s elite, the restaurant was also a family favourite for hundreds of thousands of NSW residents who fondly remember making the strip in from the suburbs for special occassions.
The notice of administration was posted on the ASIC website yesterday, sending waves of heartbreaking nostalgia right across the city.
Tributes have flown both online and in person following the announcement, with a growing pile of flowers placed outside the Sussex street venue.
Several of Sydney’s outlaw motorcycle chapters have announced multi-club memorial ride through Chinatown this afternoon, and will wear all red in tribute to their beloved late night diner.
Prominent NSW Labor identities such as Graham Richardson and Sam Dastyari have also taken to Twitter to farewell the Sydney institution.
“Pouring out a Tsingtao tonight. Vale Golden Century.” tweeted Dastyari.
Richo echoed those sentiments. “Damn. RIP Golden Century. Many a Labor branch stacked over their famous pipis. I’ll see you at the Joss Temple in the sky”.
However, while the restaurant’s closure has seen eulogies from Sydney’s politics, media and arts figures – it seems the construction industry are hurting the most.
Today every worksite across the city are paying tribute to Golden Century, the preferred meeting spot for all of the NSW Union bosses.
Sydney’s Trades Hall has ordered all delegates to lower both the CFMEU and Eureka Stockade flags at half-mast and
“We’ll never forget those damn duck wraps” said a spokesperson for the CFMEU today.
“Gotdam they were good.”
“Sydney will never be the same. Union negotiations will never be the same”
“This announcement leaves a hole in our city that may never be filled”
