SKOWHEGAN — Pak Lee Chinese Restaurant has closed its doors for good, its owners announced.

The owners of the eatery at 252 Madison Ave. cited the financial burdens of running a business as the reason for its closure.

“We are thankful for all the joyous memories and the many friendly faces we have come to know like family,” the Lee family that ran the restaurant said in a Facebook post Monday. “We would like to thank the community that has supported us throughout these years with all our trials and tribulations. With much deliberation and heavy hearts we, at Pak Lee Chinese Restaurant, will be permanently closed for the foreseeable future. ”

The restaurant was in business for 12 years, the post stated.

Other Asian restaurants operated in the space, adjacent to the state fairgrounds, before Pak Lee opened, according to newspaper archives.

In recent years, ever since the restrictions imposed on restaurants in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pak Lee closed its dining room and offered only takeout.

On Tuesday, the lights were off at the restaurant and nobody appeared to be around. An undated, handwritten sign on the front door indicated the restaurant was “closed today.” 

The closure leaves Skowhegan residents with two options in town to get their fix of egg rolls, General Tso’s chicken and lo mein: New Garden, at 6 Main St. in the Skowhegan Plaza, and Mei Lee Garden, at 381 Madison Ave. in the shopping center anchored by Tractor Supply.

Mei Lee Garden was shuttered for a few days in March after state inspectors found more than two dozen violations during a health inspection. Officials cleared the restaurant to reopen after the owner addressed the most pressing issues.