‘I can’t even digest right now.’ Why a longtime Sacramento Chinese restaurant is closing

New Blue Sky Chinese Restaurant will permanently close its doors after nearly 17 years in business in South Natomas.

Restaurant owner Jane Lau didn’t make a formal announcement about the shutdown on social media. Instead, she’s been slowly breaking the news to longtime customers that the Chinese eatery situated at 1500 W. El Camino Ave., Suite 8 will close by the end of October.

“This is like my attachment — my baby,” Lau told The Sacramento Bee over the phone while handling afternoon orders at her restaurant.

“I can’t complain because everyone that I’ve encountered has become a friend or family ... (but) I can’t even digest right now.”

Rent costs about $8,000 per month at New Blue Sky, one of the several businesses within the Discovery Plaza shopping center in South Natomas. The increasingly high rent in combination with struggling to maintain a restaurant that never fully bounced back after the pandemic led Lau to close the operation.

The Natomas resident said she stopped dine-in services a couple of years ago after she realized customers didn’t feel comfortable eating inside. Now, as she grapples with the reality of closing a restaurant she’s run for nearly half her life, she’s hopeful another restaurant will move in and make good use of the space.

“This community needs something decent enough ... I really want someone to pick it up and transform it into something very nice for the community.”

New Blue Sky has offered customers fresh, savory and authentic Chinese cuisine for nearly two decades, according to its website.

Prices vary depending on lunch and dinnertime specials. The Mongolian beef and honey walnut prawns are crowd favorites, as are orange chicken, pot stickers, chow mein and fried rice.

Lau said she will not renew her lease at the end of October, but she’s unsure of when the official last day will be.

New Blue Sky is closing in South Natomas

Address: 1500 W. El Camino Ave., Suite 8, Sacramento

Hours: 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Wednesday through Monday; closed on Tuesdays

Phone: 916-222-5440