"After a devastating 2020 fire, this long-standing Convoy District restaurant is slated to reopen by August 2024 with a multi-million-dollar, two-level remodel that includes a main dining room on the first floor and an upstairs banquet space for up to 300 guests. The relaunched concept will restore the classic seafood and other Cantonese dishes China Max was known for while expanding service to made-to-order dim sum offered from morning through dinner and adding an elevated, fine-dining tasting-menu experience with wine pairings. The new ownership team — working closely with original owner Cindy Woo (who founded the landmark Convoy District restaurant with her husband in 1983) — has recruited many former chefs, managers, and waitstaff to return and includes partners Shuai Liu and Yingkang Lu (a UCSD grad whose family runs large catering halls in Wuhan) and Yukun Sun (who owns several restaurants and karaoke bars in China, including an elegant, high-end restaurant in Kunming). The owners have been researching offerings by visiting Chinese restaurants in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas, and say they’re excited to bring back a beloved community institution that has been serving authentic Chinese cuisine and dim sum to San Diego since 2003." - Helen I. Hwang