What appeared to be the closure of an affordable, decades-old Bay Area restaurant seems to have been a false alarm.
A recent sign in the locked front door at Ben’s, a low-key Chinese restaurant in Oakland’s Jack London warehouse district, thanking customers for a “great 40 years,” actually indicated a temporary closure, second-generation owner David Fung told KQED this week.
Fung said that the restaurant will reopen in a few months after making upgrades to its floors, restroom, fire escape and interior. A bigger change is coming, too: Original owner and namesake, Ben Fung, has transferred ownership to David, his son, in preparation of retirement, according to KQED. “Pops needed a break,” David Fung told KQED of his father, 76, who has been the restaurant’s chef since 1986…