Executive Chef and co-owner Ting Tsai has been cooking up Chinese and Mandarin cuisine at Chin's Szechwan since the restaurant first opened in Carlsbad Village in 1984, although the first Chin's Szechwan restaurant actually opened in 1976 in Hawaii. Over the years, the family-owned chain grew to 12 location, but remaining branches still in business include Rancho Bernardo, Carlsbad, Del Mar, Vista, Encinitas, Oceanside, and La Jolla.
The Chin's Szechwan restaurant at 600 East Vista Way in San Diego's North County city of Vista will close after end of service on Saturday, February 15. The shopping center Chin's has been located in since 2008 will soon be converting into apartments. The company urges longtime patrons to visit them at their nearest branch in Carlsbad.
With the closure of the Vista locations, Chin's is moving staff around to its other area restaurants and gearing up to open its newest branch in the space that last housed Guahan Grill on Rosecrans Street in Point Loma. Like other outposts, the incoming Midway District location of Chin's Szechwan will serve a menu of Americanized Chinese food dishes like kung pao chicken, beef with broccoli, walnut shrimp, and egg foo young, as well as traditional Szechuan dishes like steamed whole fish, yang chow fried rice, smoked tea duck, red bean pastry, and xiao long bao steamed soup dumplings. There will also be a limited menu of beer and wine.
Chin's Szechwan is expected to open this spring at 3373 Rosecrans Street in San Diego's Point Loma. For more information, visit govisitchins.com.
Originally published on February 8, 2025.
