Leeds Chinese restaurant Maxi's has closed suddenly - this is why

Maxi's announced the news on their Facebook page and shut for the final time on Wednesday.

They admitted the closure of the Bingley Street eatery was sudden, although the one-acre site has been purchased by a property developer who plans to convert it into student accommodation.

Maxi's are looking for a new location in the area, and in the meantime will focus on their rotisserie stand at Kirkgate Market and their restaurant in York.

The business said:-

"After almost 30 years this will be our last day of trading. We would like to thank all our customers near and far for the support over this time and we are actively looking in the area for a new site. Sorry this is at such short notice but this has been completely out of our hands!"

Last summer Gregory Property Group exchanged contracts to purchase the one-acre site and a full planning application has been submitted to demolish the existing restaurant and build a 400-bed student apartment scheme.

Gregory has previously built office schemes on Wellington Street and Whitehall Road as well as the £40m Broad Street Plaza in Halifax. Last July they stated that February 2019 was the target start date for building work.

Maxi’s was founded by Raymond Wong in 1989, serving Cantonese and Pekingese cuisine. The purpose-built building with an oriental-style entrance, has capacity for over 200 people. Maxi’s was also a popular venue for the Emmerdale cast when they were based at the nearby ITV studios. According to an interview with actress Lisa Riley in 2011, they would often book the restaurant for farewell parties and other celebrations, such as birthdays.

Last summer another popular Chinese, North Sea in Stanningley, closed after trading for over 25 years.