‘Nothing we can do': Hot steam forces Chinatown Peking duck restaurant to close

A beloved staple of Philadelphia's Chinatown restaurant scene has no roasted ducks in the window right now after an external steam issue forced it to indefinitely close.

A red-and-white cease operations notice from the city's License and Inspections department was posted to the door of Sang Kee Peking Duck House at the corner of North 9th and Winter streets on Dec. 17, 2024. Steam could be seen coming from a chimney on the ground in front of the restaurant with several orange and white cones on the sidewalk outside.

"We are closed indefinitely," reads a message posted to Sang Kee's website.

"Hot vapor and steam is leaking through our sidewalk and into our basement wall, creating a public safety and electrical hazard," the restaurant known for its Peking duck wrote. "This issue originates from external infrastructure, and we are not in control of the repairs. The city's Department of Licenses & Inspections (L&I) is working with the Philadelphia Water Department and Vicinity Energy to identify and resolve the root cause. At this time, we do not have a timetable for restoration or reopening."

When did the steam issue at Philadelphia's Sang Kee Peking Duck House begin?

The steam issue first creeped up a week earlier, Sang Kee alerting customers in an Instagram post to "walk carefully" around taped off parts of the sidewalk with "200 degree hot steam escaping through multiple holes and crevices across the sidewalk."

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The steam was "also seeping into our basement at a rapid rate," Sang Kee wrote.

Then on Dec. 11, 2024, the Chinatown eatery posted "bad news" to its Facebook page:

"We have evacuated and closed the restaurant for the night," Sang Kee wrote. "Despite all the emergency personnel who came on Saturday, we have had no resolution for 5 days as our basement and the sidewalk continues to erupt with hot steam.

"The fire department came out again tonight and recommended we evacuate in an abundance of caution. too much steam, heat, and electricity mixing. peco, pgw, and the water department again deployed emergency personnel to inspect the situation."

On Dec. 11, Sang Kee said that the steam company and water department had figured out the issue -- "a leaky hydrant" -- and hoped to open the next day.

But, the real "nightmare" for the eatery came on Friday the 13th: "CLOSED INDEFINITELY," Sang Kee posted on Facebook and Instagram, with a photo of the cease operations notice.

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"We have begged and begged for help. Nobody has answers. Nobody has solutions. Is there anybody in Philadelphia who can help the city identify the source of all this steam? We are desperate.

"L&I has officially closed our business until the hot steam is gone. There is nothing we can do until it is fixed by whichever utility companies are responsible. They have deemed it too dangerous for people to be here."

The cease operations order cites electrical and fire issues and calls on Sang Kee to fix issues to the electrical and fire panel caused by the steam.

As of Tuesday, there is no timetable for when the Peking Duck will be served up again at Sang Kee in Chinatown.