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Six decades, four generations, several South Florida addresses, and one Sammy Davis Jr. sighting later, Wan’s Mandarin House is prepping to celebrate a milestone few restaurants ever reach.
The enduring Chinese restaurant, now located at 664 N. Federal Hwy. in Fort Lauderdale, is marking its 60th anniversary with five days of festivities, which began Wednesday, August 12. Owner Alex Kuk says the occasion honors both his relatives who kept Wan’s running and the customers who have treated its dining room as their own gathering place.
“We have customers that come in that are three, four generations that have eaten here,” Kuk tells New Times. “We have first generations that are eating here.”
Alex Kuk photo
From Miami in 1966 to Fort Lauderdale today
Wan’s story began in Miami in 1966, when Kuk’s great-grandfather Lee Pong Wan and his wife, Hide Wan, opened a restaurant on SW Eighth Street in Miami. The business later moved to North Miami under the next generation, followed by locations in Hollywood and Fort Lauderdale. Kuk’s aunt, Christina Wan, eventually guided the restaurant to its current address, where it has operated since 2005. She retired in 2024, although Kuk says she can still frequently be found greeting longtime diners.
Kuk, a Broward native, took ownership roughly a year and a half ago. His approach has centered on preserving the cooking and hospitality customers remember while carefully refreshing the operation. Wan’s still butchers meats, cuts vegetables, and wraps select dumplings in-house. Kitchen staff also adjust their work according to the ingredients arriving that day, accounting for everything from the quality of peppers to the fat content of pork ribs.
“We know our standards, and we are here every day to make sure those standards are met,” Kuk says.
Photo by Nicole Lopez-Alvar
Wan’s nearly disappeared before its 60th anniversary
The fact that Wan’s is celebrating 60 years is particularly meaningful considering the family restaurant nearly disappeared less than two years ago.
In November 2024, Christina Wan’s unexpectedly closed after 28 years in Fort Lauderdale’s Victoria Park neighborhood when Kuk’s aunt, Christina Wan, retired. Less than five months later, Kuk, the fourth generation of his family to enter the restaurant business, brought it back under its original name, Wan’s. The restaurant reopened March 19, 2025, in the same space, with Kuk determined to preserve a family legacy.
“My great-grandfather came to the United States without speaking English and opened his first restaurant on Calle Ocho,” Kuk told New Times ahead of the reopening. “My grandparents took over, and then my aunt. When she retired, I realized I couldn’t let this family legacy disappear. It would be a part of me dying. So, while it wasn’t part of the plan, it’s something I just had to do.”
Photo by Downtown Photo
Kuk, who also co-founded Fort Lauderdale’s Temple Street Eatery with chef Diego Ng, approached the revival by keeping the dishes longtime customers remembered while making careful upgrades. He and his chef even traveled to Orlando to track down a proper Chinese duck smoker, rented a U-Haul, and brought it back themselves.
The Fort Lauderdale restaurant itself dates to 1986, when it opened at 1201 N. Federal Hwy., before moving to its current home at 664 N. Federal Hwy. in 1996. Over the decades, generations of South Florida families have come for its Mandarin, Szechuan, and Cantonese cooking. In 2008, New Times Broward-Palm Beach named Christina Wan’s the Best Chinese Restaurant in Broward.
Now, nearly two years after Kuk stepped in to keep his family’s restaurant alive, Wan’s isn’t simply back. It’s entering its seventh decade.
Photo by Downtown Photo
Vintage Wan’s dishes return for the 60th anniversary
He says the current top sellers are its spare ribs, fried rice, and General Tso’s chicken. Anniversary week, however, will revive several old-school Wan’s dishes, including ginger-scallion lobster, Hong Kong chicken, and sweet-and-sour whole snapper. Some normally require advance notice, making their temporary comeback one of the celebration’s biggest culinary draws.
The festivities begin at 4 p.m. on August 12 with a proclamation presentation from Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis and Broward County Commissioner Lamar Fisher. Advance tickets are required and include a complimentary glass of bubbly, with proceeds benefiting Florida International University’s Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management.
A $60 prix fixe brunch follows at 11 a.m. Saturday, August 15. The three-course, family-style menu includes seafood soup, dumplings, Peking duck, ginger-scallion shrimp, Hong Kong chicken, Chinese broccoli, Mei Fun noodles, egg-and-onion rice, and a dessert from Berna Bakes. Draft beer and house wine are included – we’ll cheers to that.
Kuk also disclosed to New Times one of the limited-edition drinks planned for the anniversary. It’s a cocktail inspired by chrysanthemum tea, traditionally served with rock sugar and consumed during hot weather. “In Chinese medicine, the body can be too hot, too damp,” Kuk explains. “Chrysanthemum tea cools the blood, they say. It’s made with rock sugar. And you know what? We’re going to throw some gin in there. Why not?”
Photo by Downtown Photo
Sammy Davis Jr., vintage menus, and 60 years of memories
A memorabilia exhibit will dig even deeper into the Wan family archives – elements include the original newspaper advertisement announcing the restaurant’s opening, solving a family mystery about when Wan’s had officially welcomed its first customers. The display will also include vintage menus, family photographs, and an image of Sammy Davis Jr. posing with Kuk’s grandfather during a restaurant visit.
The programming continues after anniversary week with cooking classes devoted to classic Chinese techniques on August 29 and Chinese seafood on September 5. A full slate of events is on the restaurant’s website.
Photo by Downtown Photo
Could another Wan’s be coming?
Expansion could eventually follow. Kuk says Miami, Boca Raton, and West Palm Beach are possibilities, although suitable rent and staffing remain hurdles. For now, his priority is strengthening the Fort Lauderdale restaurant so another generation can inherit it.
“My goal this year was to get the spokes in the wheels and make sure that the foundation is stable at Wan’s,” Kuk says. “We need to solidify that a little more to ensure that Wan’s survives another 60 years.”
Wan’s Mandarin House. 664 N. Federal Hwy.; Fort Lauderdale; 954-527-0228; wansfl.com.
