About Us

Ya still with us? Guess I’ll tell you the story of New Kahala:

So waaaay back in the day, Sen and Chun Lo left Taiwan to embark on a new adventure. The couple ended up in Flushing, New York, where they hoped to start a new life. They both started in restaurants; Sen started in the kitchen, washing dishes and Chun started in front of the house as a server. Both worked their way up the restaurant; learning how to cook and run a restaurant. Then in 1992, they decided to move to a smaller,  less exciting place to raise their two kids: Jeff and William.

Carbondale Illinois was the next destination as the family already had relatives there and Southern Illinois University provided a great opportunity to grow. New Kahala was opened in the later part of  1992, previously owned by another family member. Our concept was to create a restaurant that offered generous portions with fresh ingredients, all with reasonable prices. We focused on delicious Chinese classics and also some traditional Taiwanese dishes.

Our original location was on the 600 block of South Illinois ave. It was a small location with one wok line and very close quarters. After a few years, we took over the space next to us and expanded operations to include delivery. After 23 years of building a consistent customer base, and becoming a staple in Carbondale; we decided to move into a bigger and newer location. We settled on a newer, shiny shopping mall on the corner of Wall and Grand.  We expanded delivery and kitchen operations to include catering. In 2017 we celebrated our 25th anniversary with a customer appreciation day and also switching to actual plates.

Hey! We made the news for our 25th anniversary

We love our customers and welcome your feedback and suggestions. Use our Contact Us page to tell us what we’re doing right or what we can improve on.