One of Tuscaloosa’s Oldest Chinese Restaurants Closes After 39 Years

A staple of Chinese cuisine in Tuscaloosa has permanently closed after almost 40 years in business.

Located in Northridge Center at the corner of McFarland Boulevard and Watermelon Road, there is a sign on the door of Chang's restaurant that notes they've closed, and a new listing from College City Realty shows the 2,400-square-foot property available for lease.

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In researching this report, it was hard to nail down exactly when Chang's opened - the normally foolproof method of checking archived Google Street View footage failed when this reporter was surprised to find Chang's was already open when the first Street View camera passed by in 2008.

The city of Tuscaloosa solved the mystery when they answered a public records request filed by the Thread - they said the first business license was issued to Chang's on May 6, 1985 - almost 40 years ago, and right in league with legendary bygone restaurants like Tut's, Cypress Inn and the Southland Restaurant in Cottondale.

In fact, according to a 2007 report from the Tuscaloosa News, the first Chinese restaurant didn't arrive in the Druid City until 1973, when Ronald Robel opened the Moon Gate Inn in the former home of the Downtown Pub, making Chang's one of the oldest in the city.

The space is for lease now and features a drive-through window, and College City says more than 50,000 vehicles pass the location daily.

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