Jade Court, a Cantonese eatery in Harper Court, will close its doors at the end of February after three years of operation. Restaurant owner Carol Cheung cited lack of foot traffic, rising labor costs, and high rent as the main reasons behind her agreement to terminate her lease with the University of Chicago, who owns the property.

During its short tenure on the corner of 53rd Street and South Lake Park Boulevard, Jade Court earned acclaim for its Chinese cuisine, especially its Peking duck and Dungeness crab. The restaurant has been named one of Chicago’s best Chinese restaurants by TimeOut Chicago and one of the city’s essential 38 restaurants by Eater.

Despite being a relatively new establishment, Jade Court brings generational recipes and family legacy to the Hyde Park restaurant scene. Cheung, a third-generation restaurateur, opened the first location of Jade Court with her father near the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2016. Following her father’s passing in 2019, Cheung relocated Jade Court to the Harper Court development in Hyde Park. The walls of Jade Court are covered with sprawling scrolls of Chinese calligraphy, commissioned by her grandfather when he opened his first restaurant, also named Jade Court, in 1972. Cheung serves many dishes passed down through her family, such as a steamed pork belly dish created by her grandmother.

Cheung envisioned Jade Court as a welcoming space for the Hyde Park community: “When you came in here, I wanted you to feel like you were being invited into my home,” Cheung said in an interview with The Maroon. She noted that she made an effort to remember a customer after just one or two visits: “I love getting to know my customers and recommending them things I think they would enjoy.”

Despite its positive reputation, Jade Court has encountered challenges since its opening. According to Cheung, she was rushed to open shop during the pandemic by University of Chicago administrators. “We weren’t quite ready to open yet, but [the University] kept saying ‘you have to open, you have to open.’ When I reluctantly did, I didn’t even have my steamer yet—I couldn’t make dumplings.”

Cheung cited a lack of visibility and foot traffic as the primary causes for the restaurant’s closing. Hidden from the main street, Jade Court’s location inside Harper Court significantly impacted its prominence. The pandemic and the shift to remote work in recent years have also decreased customer acquisition. “If you’ve ever walked around here at lunch, nobody’s here. There is no foot traffic,” Cheung said.

New construction only worsened the problem. Harper Court Phase II, a new University of Chicago development, began construction right above Jade Court in 2023. The entrance to the restaurant has since been obscured by ladders and scaffolding.

Cheung wishes that there were more opportunities for engagement and collaboration with the University.

“I had asked a few times if I could do a pop up in any one of the dining halls,” Cheung said. “I never, never got to do one. They don’t ask me to do the Lunar New Year celebrations or anything… There’s a reason that we’re here. It’s for the community, for the students, and for the faculty. If [the students] don’t know we’re here, we’re going to close because we’re not getting the business.”

There is currently no tenant slated to replace Jade Court. Adrian Race, Cheung’s husband and business partner, commented on the rushed nature of their closure: “We can’t understand why we would be pushed out so fast [by the University] during a construction period with no suitors. There are so many empty storefronts in this area.”

Jade Court’s closure follows many changes to the 53rd Street business district in recent years. Citing the departure of Leona’s Pizza, Aloha Poke, Native Foods, and other small businesses, Cheung lamented the changing dynamics of Hyde Park’s commercial scene: “This type of family-run small business is what made Hyde Park what Hyde Park was—mom-and-pop shops, small business, no big chains. But it’s changing from that, it’s becoming a little bit more generic, which is sad. Small businesses can’t afford steep rent like those national chains.”

Despite these challenges, Cheung expressed her appreciation for the Hyde Park community. “I will miss the neighborhood. We really like the people we’ve met here, and we’ve become a part of the community,” she said.

Members of the University’s student body have expressed their sadness about the restaurant’s closure. “Jade Court is one of the rare spots that offers good, reasonably-priced Chinese food near campus,” second-year Ray Huang said.

The restaurant also holds a distinct significance for the Chinese international student community. “When my parents came to Hyde Park to drop me off last September, we went to Jade Court for dinner. After eating their food, my dad told me that he felt assured that I would be ok here,” said Vickey Zhou, a first-year student from Beijing, China.

In a statement to The Maroon, the University said it was supportive of Jade Court during its time at Harper Court.

“Jade Court was a welcome addition to Harper Court for three years, regularly recognized as one of the city’s best Chinese restaurants,” a University spokesperson said. “Carol Cheung has been a great partner, and we have worked closely with her on efforts to grow Jade Court’s customer base and develop a path to financial sustainability. The news of her closing February 29, 2024 is difficult, but we extend our thanks and wish her continued success in her future endeavors.”

Following the closure of Jade Court on February 29, Cheung plans to take a break to think and regroup; however, she expressed her desire to potentially open another restaurant in or around Hyde Park sometime in the future.