The property that once housed the iconic Yangtze Restaurant and Dining Lounge in Chinatown remains on the market, and the head of the Chinatown BIA said it won’t be easy to find a new tenant for the large space.
Already a Subscriber? Log in
Get Instant Access to This Article
Become an Ottawa Business Journal Insider and get immediate access to all of our Insider-only content and much more.
The property that once housed the iconic Yangtze Restaurant and Dining Lounge in Chinatown remains on the market, and the head of the Chinatown BIA said it won’t be easy to find a new tenant for the large space.
Yukang Li, executive director of Ottawa’s Chinatown BIA, said a new tenant was supposed to take over the space in 2026, but the deal did not go ahead. As a result, the 10,000-square-foot building at 700 Somerset St. W. is listed on Realtor.ca by Kanata brokerage Home Run Realty.
According to the listing, the property is available to lease at $25 per square foot, and is in a “prime location” with two floors of functional space suited for a variety of retail or commercial uses.
“Positioned in a high-traffic location, the property delivers maximum street exposure, making it perfectly suited for a restaurant, café, retail store, or a variety of service-based businesses,” the listing said, adding the building is “newly renovated with modern finishes.”
Since Yangtze closed its doors in November 2024, Li said the BIA and the property owner have been looking for a business to fill the prime Chinatown location, but it’s difficult to find occupants for these kinds of large spaces.
“Given the current economic situation, it’s just too hard for any restaurant to take over a big venue like this,” he said. “I’m sure you’ve heard about VIP Seafood 99, the restaurant in the ByWard Market where the McDonald’s restaurant was. They opened and then closed within a year. It’s hard for businesses to operate at this scale.”
Business owners in the area have reported a lack of foot traffic in Chinatown, something the Yangtze used to attract.
“Business is generally slow nowadays,” Li said. “Some business is coming back due to office policy, especially during lunch hours, but Chinatown is not exactly where federal offices concentrate. So we’re not feeling a lot of that.”
While the community waits for a new landmark attraction on Somerset Street, Li said the BIA is working on other ways to attract visitors to the area, including beautification efforts, marketing and community events.
And while the Yangtze might be closed, he said there’s no shortage of other restaurants for foodies to discover.
“Despite all the challenges, Chinatown is still one of the only multicultural destinations in Ottawa,” he said. “You can experience elements from all Asian cultures, and we are so proud of the variety of Asian cuisines that our restaurants are offering. For someone who hasn’t visited Chinatown for a while, we always have something to offer in this neighbourhood.”
The Yangtze, which served Cantonese cuisine since the early 1980s, was originally listed for sale in early March 2024 for an asking price of $3.28 million. The listing included the business name and the existing building, which features two floors at about 4,800 square feet each, a lower-level banquet hall that can accommodate 70 people, all food service equipment, and 11 parking spaces.
In 2024, the listing stipulated that the building, which was constructed in 1977, could be demolished to make way for an apartment building.
With files from Marissa Galko
