Popular herbal drink shop in Lebuh Kimberly closes after 64 years

GEORGE TOWN: A popular herbal drink shop in Lebuh Kimberly has closed after 64 years with no one to continue the business.

Chan So Han, 85, who closed before ushering in the Chinese New Year said neither her children nor her grandchildren were interested in selling herbal drinks for a living as they prefer to pursue their professional careers.

“I am too old to operate the business,” she said in a press conference today.

Chan came from Guangzhou, China, to Penang just after the end of the Second World War to make a living with her mother.

She said her father had opened a shop at Lebuh Cintra selling herbal drinks prior to the start of the war and she had come over to help.

“My parents taught me the recipes for the drinks, they knew what herbs to use.

“My husband and I opened our own shop in 1953 and I continued to operate it with my children after his death in 1991,” she said.

Also present was Penang Gerakan Youth acting chief Jason Loo who urged that living heritage like that of Chan should be protected.

He said traditional shops within the George Town Heritage Zone were under pressure to continue their business from development as well as from the next generation being reluctant to take over.

He said George Town would not be a heritage site were it not for living heritage elements which he described as the “life and soul” of the place.

“Youths now prefer to spend time in modern shops, I hope they can change their routines and spend more time in traditional shops to help preserve this way of life,” he added.