Owner of Lao Sze Chuan in Downers Grove Targeted by FBI and IRS in Raids Friday

FBI and IRS agents raided several Chinatown restaurants Friday, including several owned by Tony Hu, a celebrity chef who also operates Lao Sze Chuan, 1331 W. Ogden Ave., in Downers Grove.

Hu owns the Tony Gourmet Group, which runs 11 restaurants in Chicago and the suburbs. His manager told the Chicago Tribune that all of the restaurants were targeted by federal agents Friday. Hu said the FBI would not tell him why.

“They don’t tell me nothing,” Hu said. “They’re asking for keys to my restaurants.”

FBI spokeswoman Joan Hyde said no arrests were made but search warrants were executed and boxes of evidence were collected for an ongoing investigation.

Hu also owns a restaurant in Milford, CT, and another in Las Vegas, NV. Upon opening the Vegas restaurant, Hu said that Chicago’s mayor once jokingly said to him: “I’m the mayor of Chicago but you’re the mayor of Chinatown.”