Family-owned Moon Palace marks half a century

Published 4:30 am Wednesday, July 22, 2026

Driving through Sequim in the mid-1970s, Seattle resident Robert Young saw two things in particular: it was a pleasant little town, and there was no Chinese restaurant.

In 1975, he changed that, opening Moon Palace at 323 E. Washington St. It would become Sequim’s first Chinese restaurant, and over the next five decades, it would also become something else: a touchstone for generations of local families and a life’s work for his nephew, George Lee, and George’s wife, Cindy.

“I came here as a dishwasher,” George recalled. “I worked all the way up.”

George and his family moved to Seattle from Hong Kong in 1976. That first summer, Young phoned his sister and asked if any of her children could come help at his restaurant in Sequim. The restaurant was busy. George, then a teenager, agreed to a summer job.

Every school break after that — summer, Christmas, spring — he was back in Sequim, staying with his uncle’s family and working long hours in Moon Palace’s kitchen. He had “no life,” he said — but, as he does with almost everything, he said it with an ear-to-ear smile.

Business owner at 23

Young ran Moon Palace for nearly 11 years before health problems forced him to step back. None of the younger family members wanted the restaurant. They wanted to move back to Seattle. Young phoned George and asked him if he would consider taking over.

George was just 23 at the time.

“I told him that I have no money,” he recalled.

Young offered to finance the sale over 30 months. George talked with his brothers and a close friend he’d grown up with, gone to school with, and called a business partner.

Collectively, they figured that since he was young, why not give it a try? If it didn’t work out, he could do something else.

So George agreed. And what he thought might be a short chapter in his life turned into a lifetime commitment.

“Then I stuck here for the next 39 years,” he said, laughing.

Today, his brothers still live in Seattle. His mother is there, too. George and Cindy are the only members of their immediate family in Sequim, traveling back and forth as time allows.

Family life

George and Cindy met in high school, began dating in college, and married in 1990. At the time, she was working at an agricultural insurance office in downtown Seattle and considered herself very much a city person.

“Moving into a small town, it was a challenge for me at the beginning,” she said. “Especially as a retirement town, you don’t have much activity going on for younger people.”

Two years into their marriage, they started a family. The couple’s two sons are just 22 months apart. For several years, Cindy stayed home full-time with them while George worked seven days a week at the restaurant.

“It was fairly tough on both of us,” Cindy said.

As the boys grew, they joined the workforce early — at Moon Palace. Through high school, they came in after classes, after activities, and on weekends.

“All my kids say, ‘There’s no life (working at the restaurant),’” George said.

“Neither of our boys would want to take over,” Cindy said of the day in the not-too-distant future when she and George will want to retire. “They know how hard it is. It’s a very demanding job. You’re constantly busy.”

One son lives in Kirkland, the other near Lake Tapps. They have careers.

“They have their own thing to do,” Cindy said. “They want to be able to go travel with their spouse and their kids.”

Hard work, long days

When asked what it’s like to run Moon Palace day to day, George replied, “Hard work.”

He added, “You have to love what you do. If not, you will hate yourself.”

He still does much of the cooking himself, especially since COVID-19 made staffing more difficult — a challenge that continues today. Few workers are willing to leave bigger cities, where wages can be higher, to come to a small town. As a result, most of the help Moon Palace has now is part-time.

The restaurant is closed on Sundays and Mondays following years of it being a seven-days-a-week operation. Even with reduced hours, the work doesn’t end when the doors close. George comes in for three or four hours on Mondays to clean filters and maintain equipment.

“Our bodies are getting older. We need a little more rest now,” Cindy said.

Having a little time off allows them to visit their sons and dote on their 5½-year-old granddaughter.

When COVID-19 hit, Moon Palace, like restaurants across the country, faced an uncertain future. George made a decision that surprised many of his peers. He refused to take any money from the government to help keep the restaurant open. Thanks to the generosity of loyal customers, he and Cindy were able to stay afloat through takeout orders.

Why did he not take the money?

“I can work,” he said simply.

Said Cindy: “It was a tough time, but we managed.”

Local institution

Over the years, the Lees have seen Sequim change from a town with one flashing light to a much larger, busier community.

Customers who once came in as children now bring their own kids, and in some cases, their grandchildren.

Moon Palace’s menu has its regular standouts, including its house-made egg rolls. Unlike many places that buy pre-made wraps, Moon Palace makes the crepes and the filling from scratch, and then batters and fries them.

“I try to cut that,” George admitted, referring to the amount of work that goes into the menu item. “But people don’t let us cut it.”

Beyond the menu, George and Cindy have made a point of supporting local schools and organizations, donating where they can. Cindy remembers how much scholarship support their older son received in high school.

“We feel like now we should give it back to the community because it helped a lot,” she said. “Maybe we don’t do a lot, but a little donation here, a little donation there — I think it helps.”

Looking ahead

George is 63. Cindy will turn 62 this year. They say retirement is out there somewhere — “We’ll probably keep going until our body tells us that, okay, you need to slow down,” Cindy said — but there is no immediate plan to close.

While most restaurant owners probably want as many customers as possible, the Lees are past all that.

“For now, steady is good,” Cindy said. “We just want a steady business where we can manage and still do a good job.”

George has told Cindy that if the day ever comes when he wakes up and starts complaining about going to the restaurant, that will be the sign that it is time to sell.

So far, that day hasn’t come.

“I’m still enjoying it,” he said.

Reach Moon Palace at 360-683-6898.