IlluMyFi

Jan. 13 -- JAMESTOWN -- It has always been Jin Quan Su's dream to open a business. Su and his wife, Yanti Halimah, moved to the Fargo-Moorhead area years ago where they worked at Izumi Sushi & Hibachi. Halimah said after working there for about six or seven years, Su was asked if he wanted to be a co-partner in Izumi Sushi & Hibachi in Jamestown. After about three years in Jamestown, the two saw a need for a Chinese restaurant in Jamestown. Only one Chinese restaurant existed in Jamestown before December. Halimah, a manager of Chopsticks Express and Izumi in Jamestown, said it wasn't easy to find a location to open a restaurant. She said after Taco John's relocated, the building for Chopsticks Express was identified. Chopsticks Express is located at 718 10th St. SE in Jamestown. Chopsticks Express opened on Dec. 1. Halimah said business has been "very good" since the restaurant opened. "Thanks for everybody for being so nice and supportive," she said. Chopsticks Express serves authentic Chinese food that is more catered to Americans, Halimah said. Chopsticks Express is more like a fast-food restaurant where customers can order for takeout or dine in. Customers can also place orders through its drive-thru. She said the plan is to add Chopsticks Express to DoorDash where customers can order through the app and get their food delivered. The Chopsticks Express' main entree menu includes the popular General Tso's chicken, bourbon chicken and butter shrimp among others. The main entree menu also includes black pepper chicken, teriyaki chicken, sweet and sour chicken, kung pao chicken, seafood vegetables, pepper steak and stir-fried green beans, and the restaurant also has appetizers such as spring rolls, cheese rangoon, dumplings or gyoza and egg rolls. When customers order from Chopsticks Express, they have an option to buy a meal package that includes a side of fried rice or noodles and either one, two or three main entrees. Halimah said the food at Chopsticks Express is good value that customers can get fast. "A lot of people are working and they don't have too much time and we don't have it in Jamestown," she said. Chopsticks Express is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday; 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Sunday. The restaurant is closed on Tuesday. Halimah said a party tray could be added to the menu in the future for larger gatherings. Currently, a family feast with three large entrees and two large sides of fried rice or noodles is offered. She said management will look at any suggestions offered by customers.

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13.01.24 11:18

by news.yahoo.com

Admirers of nautical icon Anna hope to prevent her final bow

Jan. 13 -- CAPE VINCENT -- The Anna, a nautical icon beloved by its legion of fans, is on rocky ground after the owner of the 30-foot Block Island trawler expressed some interest in selling the boat, or at least parts of her. In early December, Ronald J. Trottier, owner of Anchor Marina, 583 E. Broadway St., where Anna has been "on the hard" for about two decades, tasked Marcie Travers-Barth with selling Anna. Tavers-Barth owns The Coal Docks Restaurant & Bar, across the street from the marina. The restaurant building itself is owned by Trottier, who is not involved in the establishment's business or management. "The owner has asked that I put it up for sale and handle all offers," Travers-Barth posted on Facebook on Dec. 10, noting that the transaction would not result in any money for her. "Buyer(s) must remove it at their own cost. Let's get her sold and keep her part of the Cape Vincent community." That post set off alarms on the "The Anna" Facebook group page, which says the boat "has become an 'unofficial' beloved icon of the Cape Vincent community." Group members sought ways to save her. Posted ideas ranged from creating a GoFundMe account, setting up a nonprofit, gauging interest from the Mystic Seaport in Stonington, Connecticut, to placement of Anna on the National Register of Historic Places. On Jan. 3, in a "Letters From the People" submission to the Watertown Daily Times, Cape Vincent resident Victoria Sperry wrote that Anna is a vital source of tourism with a potential of doing much more. "There are a couple of places in the village where Anna could be displayed (with the cooperation of local authorities) if enough people come together and work to make this happen," Sperry wrote. "It's a romantic thing on my part, Sperry said on Tuesday. "Anna is beautiful. And so many old boats fade into obscurity. But she really is an attraction. People come here to paint and draw her. It's an incentive for people to come to the cape." Cape Vincent Mayor Jerry D. Golden said the village would have no means to undertake a restoration project involving Anna and finds the arguments to save her don't hold much water. "It's definitely gotten some attention. It's cool looking. I have a picture of it, as do so many other people. There are people out there who think something different, but to me, there's just no value in trying to restore that or have it on display." He said the ship has been a topic at village meetings, and at one, a question was asked. "Somebody mentioned, 'If some private investor bought it, restored it and made it pristine and gave it to the village -- would they take it?' I'm like, that's a lot of hypotheticals there, but I said you could always present something to the village if that were the case, and we could make a decision at that time." He added, "If somebody said, 'Hey, you could buy the Anna for $20,000 if the village put up the money,' I would say we wouldn't be interested." A restored Anna would face another issue in the village. "Where would you put i...