PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Chinatown staple Sang Kee Peking Duck House has been shut down indefinitely as city officials try to figure out why dangerously hot steam has been billowing from the restaurant's basement and onto the sidewalk.
Steam isn’t necessarily a new issue at Sang Kee on North Ninth Street, near Vine Street. In recent years, the restaurant replaced its water supply line and fixed a nearby leaky hydrant because it was interacting with a steam pipe. Now, owners say a damaged steam pipe is causing water to drip on the main electrical and fire panel.
As a result, the Department of Licenses and Inspections (L&I) shut down Sang Kee on Friday, Dec. 13, also noting that it had a broken fire alarm.
This past week, more steam than usual began escaping basement walls and rising through the sidewalk, at times reaching more than 200 degrees.
“Customers [are] coming into our building saying, ‘Hey, I’m getting burned by this steam coming through the sidewalks. What are you gonna do about it?’” said the restaurant’s general manager Henry Chow, whose family has owned Sang Kee for more than 40 years.
Chow said officials have inspected the problem but no one can pinpoint the root cause.
“We’re not mad at them. Perfectly friendly people; good, hard-working Philadelphia people just like us. We’re just frustrated about the lack of coordination, and this is an emergency that no one seems to know how to solve. We’re the ones who are left sitting at home wondering if we still have a business and if our employees still have jobs,” Chow said.
Chow added the shutdown couldn’t have come at a worse time, as the holidays usually bring a lot of business.
“People come home for the holidays. They might not have this opportunity to come and meet with us and eat with us and all the wonderful things that we’ve been able to create these 44 years. That’s all gonna be gone this holiday season. So sad,” he said.
“From our standpoint, we don’t have a business right now. And that’s a major problem. So we need action. And without the action, we’re just a dead business.”
Sang Kee’s next-door neighbor, Ocean City Restaurant, had to close early Tuesday night so the water department could investigate.
According to a Vicinity Energy spokesperson, the company "is actively working with PWD [Philadelphia Water Department] and the business owner to do a root-cause analysis." At this time, the cause has not been determined.
In a statement to KYW Newsradio, the Department of Licenses and Inspections said it issued a cease of operations order at Sang Kee on Dec. 14 "due to hazardous plumbing and electrical conditions and the inoperable status of the fire protection system caused by steam entering the basement of the property."
L&I said Sang Kee and "various other entities" are working to determine the source of the steam, including the Mayor’s Business Action Team, the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation (PCDC) and City Councilmember Mark Squilla. He helped organize a meeting Monday afternoon to fast-track a resolution.
“I think there was a sentiment in the room that they wanted to get this restaurant reopened as soon as possible, which was a very positive sign,” said PCDC Executive Director John Chin.
Chinatown leaders have been clashing with the city over the proposed 76ers arena in their neighborhood, so Chin said they need a show of good faith from the city. “The city has every opportunity to show that it cares about one of the oldest businesses in Chinatown and is putting resources toward solving the problem and getting them back open.”
Sang Kee will be able to resume operations once the business comes into compliance with all fire and life safety codes. At this time, L&I said there is no anticipated date for lifting the cease of operations order.