Local Tibetan Restaurant Taken Over by Local Chinese Restaurant

On Tuesday, the Pioneer Valley’s only Tibetan restaurant, Northampton’s Taste of Tibet, was violently taken over by a neighboring Chinese restaurant, Beijing Garden. The hostile takeover drew condemnation from neighboring restaurants, but none chose to intervene on behalf of the Tibetan restaurant for fear of angering Beijing Garden. Taste of Tibet’s former owners allege that the takeover was illegal, while the new owners insist that, in fact, they had been invited in and were welcomed as honored guests. The new owners promised to bring “stability and harmony” to the eatery, which will still serve Tibetan cuisine, though with a decidedly Chinese flair. The first task of the new management will be to dismantle the restaurant’s antiquated decor in favor of something more modern and forward-looking. Once the new owners have had time to rid the establishment of what they called its “reactionary elements,” the Western public would be invited back to see for themselves the glorious revolution that has taken place there.