Northwest Chinese, a local restaurant specializing in authentic Chinese cuisine, was named College Park’s 2024 Business of the Year at Tuesday’s city council meeting.

Serving dishes from the Shanxi province in China, Northwest Chinese is well-known for its handmade noodle dishes and unique flavors, city documents stated.

The restaurant, located on Route 1, was recognized for its community involvement, commitment to sustainability and “notoriety in the local food scene,” according to a city news release.

Northwest Chinese opened in 2015 after owner Hua Wang moved to the city and saw a lack of traditional Chinese food in the area, Xue Ling, the restaurant’s brand manager, told The Diamondback.

Ling and Wang said they felt honored to receive the award, and thanked the local community for its support in the restaurant’s success.

“College Park is so vibrant and has a lot of energy and the community is so welcoming,” Ling said.

The city council cited Northwest Chinese’s dedication to sustainable practices as a factor in its selection, according to city documents.

The restaurant promotes sustainability by using paper carryout bags instead of plastic, minimizing plastic straw use, opting for environmentally-friendly paper takeout containers and offering a variety of vegetarian options, Wang said.

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The restaurant’s reputation in local food publications contributed to it receiving the distinction, the city news release stated. Northwest Chinese was highlighted as a top restaurant in The Washington Post, Washingtonian and Bon Appétit, according to the release.

College Park Mayor Fazlul Kabir, who presented the award at the council meeting, told The Diamondback that it was “well deserved.”

“This is a very good choice, the community loves them,” Kabir said.

The award comes as Wang prepares to open a new eatery, called Li Chun Café, in City Hall’s plaza in February, according to the news release.

The new restaurant will feature foods from Wang’s hometown of Shenyang City in Northeast China, Ling said. Customers can expect to find bing, a traditional Chinese flatbread, rice dishes, teas and fusion coffee beverages on the menu, Ling added.

“We want to provide [customers] a cozy and happy place that they can come in to have a comfort meal,” Ling said. “It’s going to be very special.”

The Diamondback previously reported that pending redevelopments on Route 1 will eventually force Northwest Chinese’s current location to close. The timeline of the restaurant’s closure is yet to be determined, Ling said.

Ling and Wang plan to operate Northwest Chinese for as long as possible, and expect an overlap where they are running both Northwest Chinese and Li Chun Cafe simultaneously.

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Kabir said he is excited for Li Chun Café’s opening and added that it is part of a larger city effort to revitalize downtown College Park through the addition of new eateries.

Northwest Chinese was chosen for the award by a selection committee made up of four city council members, Kabir said.

Residents were able to nominate local businesses for the award before the selection committee chose the final winner from the nominations, Kabir explained.

District 3 city council member John Rigg, who served on the selection committee, said this year’s award was “really competitive” due to the volume of nominations they received.

“We had a lot of really worthy applications,” Rigg said. “Residents of our city are really passionate about some of our local businesses. They wrote extremely compelling things.”

Northwest Chinese is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and again from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.