It’s a good thing Li didn’t take that advice. Handed his family business, Hong Shing restaurant, he decided to rethink a Toronto staple – modernize it and add new amenities without compromising the culture and staples of the iconic restaurant – and challenge the idea of paying respect to a legacy. “I believed evolution was necessary, not to erase the past, but to honour it by building a future that reflects the city, the culture, and the people we serve today.”
Hong Shing, the restaurant his parents opened in 1997 and passed down to him, serves up Cantonese favourites in a modern, chill setting. Li redesigned the space and included a private dining room, a concept that’s been a smashing success inside the Dundas Street mainstay.
His entrepreneurship journey started a bit differently than most traditionally do, but he quickly embraced the challenge, making Hong Shing his own pretty immediately thanks to the private dining room and updated interiors, but also by building a basketball gym as his way of giving back to the local communities that supported us throughout the years. He used his passion for basketball to mark his own legacy as an entrepreneur, but also to say those who helped him get to where he is. He’s sponsored men’s, women’s, and youth teams alike, and he hopes to use it to inspire and connect the people around him.
But in all of the changes and innovations, Li wanted his chapter of Hong Shing’s story to strike the perfect balance between past an present, and that’s played on everything he’s done thus far.
“Carrying on the legacy of a family business adds both weight and meaning to my entrepreneurship journey. There’s a deep sense of responsibility, not just to continue what was built before me, but to evolve it in a way that honors the past while staying relevant to the present,” he says. “Every decision I make carries the history of my family and the community that supported us throughout the decades, which pushes me to lead with integrity and purpose. I can feel the weight in all my decisions because I always feel that one wrong decision can break what my parents have built for decades long.
“Overall, I feel like it’s not just about running a restaurant, it’s about preserving culture, telling our story in new ways, and ensuring the next generation has something even stronger to inherit.”
His approach to that is thoughtful, balancing expansion and a desire to connect with even more people with a desire to stay true to his fast. Sometimes, Li says, it’s all in the middle. “Balancing growth with legacy means knowing when to protect tradition and when to challenge it. At Hong Shing, I’m constantly asking myself, how do we stay true to who we are, while evolving to meet the needs of a new generation?” he says.
Growth doesn’t mean abandoning the past, it means building on it with intention. By staying rooted in our values but unafraid to innovate when needed, I’ve learned that honoring legacy and pushing boundaries can coexist, and that’s where the most meaningful progress happens.”
