RED BANK: CHEF TAKES OVER AT TEMPLE

The name will change, but after a brief shutdown, fans of Temple Gourmet Chinese restaurant in Red Bank can again enjoy their favorite dishes there.

A week after the restaurant was evicted for unpaid rent, chef Tuck Ho has reopened the business at 91 Broad Street under a new lease with the landlord, the Ten Company.

Ho, who has been Temple’s chef since Victor Kuo opened the restaurant 11 years ago, told redbankgreen on Friday that he plans to change its name and make minor menu changes.

Meantime, the restaurant is back in operation, and will continue through the end of the year, when it will close briefly to install new signage and obtain required permits, Ho said.

Kuo told redbankgreen last week that TenCo had filed a court action against his company, Big China Corporation, in May, 2020 “for missing a month’s rent when the pandemic started.”

But after a trial last month, Superior Court Judge Gregory Acquaviva found that Big China Corporation owed TenCo nearly $124,000, and cleared the way for eviction, which took effect December 8.

“Chef Ho has always been the real talent in the kitchen and the reason for Temple’s prior success,” TenCo attorney Dan Himelman told redbankgreen by email. “We look forward to the opening of the new restaurant under Chef Ho’s ownership.”

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