Jani Chinese closes in Hicksville

Jani, a Chinese-Japanese mainstay of the Hicksville community, has closed after 30 years. A photo of a sign in the restaurant’s window — "Jani is permanently closed as of July 20, 2026” — was posted in the Save our Hicksville Facebook group Thursday. Among the more than 100 commenters was the owner’s son, Chris Shah. Responding to the many heartfelt tributes, he wrote that Alexander Shah "ended up stopping work cause of health issues, and passed away December 2025 from pancreatic cancer. Extremely grateful for the kind words and memories."

Jani opened at 260 N. Broadway in 1996. It was part of a loose chain of restaurants whose first link was the Jani at Walt Whitman shopping center in Huntington Station. More Janis opened in Franklin Square, Mineola, Rockville Centre and Wantagh; only Wantagh remains.

The Hicksville menu offered few surprises, but in addition to everything you'd expect from a suburban Chinese restaurant, it also served dim sum all day (circa 2015), including a mean pan-fried leek dumpling. The Hong Kong noodle soups were a mainstay until the end. One distinctive feature of the decor was a back wall displaying dozens of beautiful porcelain teapots.