A popular Chinese restaurant on Route 1 in Attleboro said it will close its doors after more than half a century of operation.
Mon Kou wrote on its website that the tiki-inspired restaurant would be closing “due to retirement.” Its last day serving customers will be May 31.
“This decision was not made lightly, and it comes with a mix of emotions — gratitude for the countless memories, pride in the meals we’ve shared, and sadness in saying goodbye," the restaurant wrote.
The restaurant first opened in 1971, according to its website, and became known for its Polynesian ambiance and spacious dining room, which hosted anniversaries, birthdays, and other celebrations.
“You trusted us to host your birthday parties, engagement celebrations, and Fantasy Football draft nights,” the restaurant wrote. “You cheered on the Patriots at our Super Bowl parties and waited in the crowded foyer for your New Year’s Eve meal.”
“Despite the numerous gallons of duck sauce, pu pu platters and scorpion bowls made over the years, your laughter, celebrations, and support have been the heart of our story,” the restaurant wrote.
Restaurant management could not immediately be reached for comment.
Offbeat Eats, a New England food blog, described Mon Kou as one of the few remaining examples of “Polynesian Pop” restaurants, a style popularized in the mid-20th century that served Americanized Asian cuisine and Tiki-style cocktails.
“The result is a mix of cultural integration, cultural preservation, adaptation, preservation,” the site’s 2022 review read. “Mon Kou is only about a mile from the MA/RI border and downtown Central Falls, but once you walk in the door, it’s immediately obvious you’ve entered an old-school Polynesian-inspired joint.”
Since their heyday, Polynesian-style Chinese restaurants have been on the decline (another 50-year-old Tiki restaurant in Barnstable closed in December). Mon Kou was one of the few surviving examples — another, the legendary Kowloon, is an hour’s drive north on Route 1 in Saugus.
Another local Tiki-inspired restaurant, Harvard Square’s Wusong Road, opened in 2021.
Camilo Fonseca can be reached at camilo.fonseca@globe.com. Follow him on X @fonseca_esq and on Instagram @camilo_fonseca.reports.