By Chris Hayes
Copyright fox2now
ST. CHARLES, Mo. – The Golden Apple Buffet in St. Charles County reopened its doors Tuesday, just weeks after immigration raids shut it down. The parking lot was full of customers’ cars, and the nearby street was lined with “now open” signs. The two men behind the restaurant said they intended to reopen as soon as they got out of jail. They pleaded not guilty to harboring illegal immigrants, bonded out last week, and now five days later, the buffet is back in business. Betty Galloway said, “We just came here by accident today we were out and about and thought let’s just drive by there and see if it’s open and it just so happened it’s open today.” Galloway is a long-time customer who said she’s been waiting for this day. Golden Apple Buffet suddenly closed September 2nd after raids at not only the restaurant but also two suburban homes that were reportedly packed with dozens of workers. Two men behind the restaurant remain charged with federal immigration crimes – Guo Lian Ye and Da Jin Ye – who said through their attorneys that they intended to reopen their buffet upon their release. The challenge appeared to be finding new workers as dozens swept up in immigration raids remain detained. Some of those workers have hearings on Wednesday in Kansas City. An attorney for those workers told FOX 2 in a Sept. 10 exclusive report that his clients are here legally – yet they remain locked up. We’ll know more about those workers after their Wednesday hearings, which are closed to the public. Meanwhile, at the restaurant it appears the buffet hired enough help to reopen – three weeks to the day after those raids and the sudden closure. We could not get a comment from the owners or a restaurant rep. We learned in their court hearings that they speak limited English and needed translators. We’ll continue to follow their federal charges as well as the immigration hearing results for the workers.
