When talking about the Silver Dragon Restaurant's history we have to pay homage to a number of family members and a number of restaurants owned by the family in the past.

The family hails from China and Vietnam, and began in the food business in Saigon City, VIetnam, where our parents actually operated a small noodle stand on a push-cart for many years.

In 1983, under a previous ownership, the Golden Lights Restaurant was opened at 4150 NW 16th Blvd in Gainesville, in the Millhopper Market Place. Seven years later, in 1990, the previous owner retired, at which time we purchased the restaurant.

The Golden Lights Restaurant included a small bar with a good selection of alcoholic beverages to choose from - including beer, wine, and even a number of specialty mixed drinks. Over the many years that Golden Lights remained in business, it was one of the few good asian cuisine restaurants left in town, and we knew it. We took great pride in our business, and developed a reputation for good quality food, very reasonable pricing, and a nice, relaxing atmosphere, with a very open and polite staff. The restaurant remained opened for a period of 17 more years.

In the meantime, in 1995, other family members opened up a restaurant on the east side of town called the Silver Dragon Restaurant. It was located at 1800 NE 23rd Blvd, and operated until 1999 - a period of about four years.

Between the families, here in America, we have over 21 years of combined experience in asian and american cooking.

In 2007, we closed the doors of Golden Lights so that we could spend some time with family and friends here in America and abroad. We kept in touch with our customer fan base, however, and we were sure to drop hint that we were definitely thinking of reopening again at some future time.

After a year-and-a-half vacation, we opened a new restaurant. This time, borrowing the name from our parents' restaurant, we called it the Silver Dragon Restaurant. The new restaurant is now located at 4870 NW 39th Ave, in the Magnolia Parke plaza, in Gainesville. Opening day was on October 11th, 2009.

Other family members even opened up a nail salon next door called Lovely Nails, in Suite # 3 (Tel: 352-337-8312). Feel free to drop by while you're there!

At The Silver Dragon Restaurant, we enjoy what we do and we take great pride in the food we cook. Since 1990, our customer base has been coming back time and again because they know that we're serious. We use fresh cut vegetables and ingredients. The food is always cooked piping hot. Our wonton soup is made using real stock created in the restaurant, not using powder. Our wontons are made by hand, not canned or frozen. We don't water anything down. We don't take shortcuts. ...And if you have a preference in the way you like your particular dished cooked, we're only too happy to accomodate you. Your business is very important to us.

We'd like to express a special thanks to all of our loyal Golden Lights customers who have come back, expressing how much they missed us. We missed you, too, and we're glad to be back. Without you, we couldn't survive. We really are so very honored to have such a large fan base, and we consider each of you our friends.

So spread the word. We're back; and we look forward to serving Gainesville residents again!

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