When the Huang family took over LV Seafood in 1999, they passed out flyers to the neighbors in Lakewood Village, hoping customers would show up.
“When we started the business, [it was] very difficult,” owner Sam Huang said. “We learned little by little.”
Every day the Huangs drive from Pasadena to the restaurant and work from 9 a.m. until they get home at 11 p.m. It began with just their family working in the kitchen, dining room and taking to-go orders over the phone, but now they have about 20 employees.
On Sunday, the Huangs celebrated their restaurant’s 30th anniversary with a lion dance performance by Ane Thanh Lion Dance troupe from Orange County. Visitors got the chance to get a free LV Seafood tumbler and got coupons for Yamanaka Kakigori — their son-in-law’s Japanese-inspired shaved ice spot.
Sam and his wife Yina started discussing the possibility of opening a restaurant after they got married in 1992, but didn’t have enough experience. At the time, Sam’s family owned several Chinese restaurants in Mexico. So to learn the ins and outs of the industry, they worked at one of their family’s Chinese-Mexican restaurants.
When they returned to Southern California, Sam was waiting tables at a nearby Chinese restaurant. The owner of LV Seafood at that time invited Sam to come see the operation. After partnering with the former owner, Sam and Yina eventually bought him out.
Their oldest son, Kevin, was only two months old when they bought LV Seafood.
“The whole family grew up here,” Sam said. Customers often saw Kevin and his sisters, Denise and Diane, sitting in a booth doing their homework after school.
“There are customers who remember me before I remember them,” Denise said.
Kevin said he still remembers feeling bad about spilling water on a customer when he first began serving tables at the restaurant. He was just 10-years-old.
When he was even younger, Kevin brought a bowl of rice to a customer. When the customer paid for his food, he left a $10 tip for Kevin to use for school. For several years, that customer continued to leave $10 for Kevin every time he came in. He’s still a regular at LV Seafood.
“It’s a really big community here that [my parents] have been able to build for the past 30 years,” Kevin said.
“I almost didn’t realize it has been 30 years,” Denise said. “This place has really felt like a home away from home. We are all so invested in this place and I think our customers know that too.”
Beyond the standout customer service, LV Seafood likes to make guests feel special. During birthdays, the staff brings out a lighted sign that reads, “Happy Birthday from LV Seafood” with a candle-lit dessert and sing “Happy Birthday.”
Yina said the customers are their main reason for staying open for so long. The Huangs put the same dedication into serving quality food as they do to quality service. Sam said he checks everything that goes through the kitchen: If the oranges at the market aren’t sweet enough or the greens aren’t green enough, Sam refuses to buy them.
Jozella Reed and her 94-year-old mother Helena Kilpatrick have been making the drive from LA to LV Seafood since they opened. Thirty years ago, Reed said she was working nearby when she got a flyer from the family and was intrigued.
“We are always glad to make the trip from LA,” Reed said. “It’s the best Chinese food we’ve had in the area.” Their go-to order includes yang chow fried rice, the tangerine beef, the string beans with X.O. sauce and — when they feel like splurging or for a special occasion — the lobster with black bean sauce.
“They are always consistent and affordable too. We end up getting seven or eight items on the table and always leave with a big bag of leftovers.”
After running the restaurant for almost half of his life, Sam is preparing to retire at the end of this year. Kevin will take over and continue to run the restaurant with his mom, but Sam still plans to help out along with the rest of the family.
“I don’t want the customers to forget us,” Yina said.
LV Seafood, 4139 Norse Way, is open Monday through Friday for lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., then they reopen for dinner from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. On Saturdays and Sundays, they are open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.