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Fortune••general
Key Points:
- Peter and Lily Fang founded House of Nanking out of necessity, not intending for their daughter Kathy to inherit the restaurant, as they viewed cooking as manual labor rather than a prestigious career.
- Kathy Fang, initially pushed by her immigrant parents to pursue a stable profession like medicine or law, eventually left a corporate career to return to the family restaurant, bringing media savvy and marketing to the brand.
- Despite the restaurant’s fame among celebrities and foodies, the Fang family remains humble and somewhat unaware of their celebrity status, with Peter Fang even mistaking Keanu Reeves for Sean Connery.
- Kathy’s involvement has revitalized the restaurant’s public image, easing her father’s concerns about its longevity and proving the business can be multigenerational,
