Yuan Tang was born in Fairfax, Virginia, but spent part of his childhood in Hong Kong with his grandparents, where his grandfather owned a Shanghainese restaurant. The move allowed his parents to focus on the Chinese takeout restaurants they operated in the United States. Tang returned to Virginia at 12 and later worked at his family’s restaurant, Szechuan Chef, answering phones and packaging takeout orders. Despite his early exposure to the hospitality industry and growing interest in cooking, he was encouraged to pursue a different path. He went to college, earned a degree in accounting, and began a career in the field.
That path was not his calling. After five years, he decided to return to his roots and pursue a career in the kitchen. He initially planned to attend culinary school in New York City but instead took a job at Good Fork Pub in Brooklyn. After working in an office, the shift was immediate. “I quickly realized that I couldn't take time off for vacations, weddings, or holidays anymore, like my peers and my friends were doing,” he says. “But it changed the way I now work as a restaurateur, making sure all team members have the opportunity to have good work-life balance through a PTO policy and flexible days off.”
Tang went on to work at three-MICHELIN-star Jean-Georges, as well as one-MICHELIN-star restaurants The Modern and Dovetail. “In those environments, I learned you have to really dedicate yourself and push in order to advance,” he says.
He and his wife, Carey, a Northern Virginia native who oversees front-of-house operations, returned to the Mid-Atlantic. In 2019, the couple opened Rooster & Owl, a refined tasting menu restaurant offering a four-course, choose-your-own format with options for vegetarians, pescatarians, and guests with gluten or dairy restrictions. It earned a MICHELIN star in 2021. The Tangs followed with Ellie Bird, an upscale casual restaurant in Falls Church, Virginia, in 2023.
