One of Shawville’s longest-standing restaurants is getting a makeover.
Kojack’s Restaurant, Shawville’s only destination for Chinese fare, has been open for business since 1988 when owner Jack Ko moved to town from Gatineau.
Now, the business’ two newest owners say they want to bring some new flavours to the menu.
Business partners Robin Luo and Sinam Ng are both originally from China, but in 2007 they moved to London, Ont. Starting in 2015, they operated a 250-seat restaurant in the city.
Luo said their restaurant closed in 2022 because Canadian-Chinese supermarket chain T&T opened a buffet-style restaurant nearby, forcing them out of business.
Last year, the pair heard that Ko, an industry friend, was looking at selling his restaurant in Shawville. Ng came to Shawville in Nov. 2025 to help his friend in the kitchen after Ko had had a surgery that left him unable to work. In January, Ng and Luo officially took over the business.
Ng speaks little English, so Luo spoke to
THE EQUITY on behalf of both owners. Luo said customers have been asking what they intend to do with the menu, adding that they want to keep many of the dishes that have become customer favourites.
“Jack [has been here] many years, it’s a successful business. So we’re trying to copy him,” Luo said.
But he added that they also want to bring some new, more “traditional” Chinese dishes to the menu for diners to enjoy.
“We are putting in some special dishes [that] the chefs recommend,” he said, giving a few examples of dishes they were experimenting with, including diced beef with black pepper, Chinese sesame chicken, and beef rice noodles.
Luo said there will be some minor changes to the operation of the restaurant. While Ko had three cooks in the kitchen, Luo said they will have four. He said they have made updates to the kitchen, replaced equipment, and made the kitchen more spacious in order to accommodate this shift.
But the owners are hoping this new shift will allow them to serve the community on a more consistent basis. Luo said the restaurant will now be open seven days a week, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
“We can offer more food [that way],” Luo said.
THE EQUITY reached Ko in Toronto. He said he decided to sell the restaurant after his leg surgery, which made it impossible to continue running the restaurant.
“I’m too old now. I’m 70, I have to retire,” he said.
Ko said he enjoyed having a loyal customer base over the years. He said he believes his food spoke for itself.
“If the price is good and the food is good, the people keep coming. It’s a small town, everybody knows if your food is no good.”
He said he is looking forward to getting some rest in retirement, and being close to family in Toronto. He said he has faith the restaurant is in good hands going forward.
“They are very good cooks,” he said.
Luo said that he, Ng, and two cooks have moved from London to Shawville to run the restaurant. He said they are enjoying the area, and that it’s nice for him because he can be close to his daughter who is studying at the University of Ottawa.
“Everybody is friendly, and it’s calm. The river is beautiful, and the dam, and the road [from] Toronto. Everything is beautiful,” he said.
