Wonton Express owner Max Lee gave the meals to St Vinnies, who will be distributing them to those who are doing it tough in the age of coronavirus.

"It's been hard for us, but there are plenty of people out there who have it even harder - at least I've got a roof over my head," Mr Lee said.

"As long as it's feeding some bellies, I'm happy."

Mr Lee was just one of the restaurants at Wagga Marketplace's food court forced to close down as sales dried up day by day amid ever-tightening social distancing restrictions.

The nail in the coffin came on Sunday when the government announced a two-person cap on gatherings, after which Mr Lee saw his sales shrivel to less than 10 per cent of their normal levels.

With a heavy heart he decided to close his stores and do one last cook-up for charity to help those who were struggling as well as to generate some much-needed goodwill towards the Asian community.

"Not all of us are bad," Mr Lee said.

"I wanted to put a bit more faith towards the Asian community."

When word got out about the donation, Mr Lee was flooded with so many positive messages from the community that he was moved to tears.

Mr Lee said his mental health had taken a hammering over the past three weeks, and that the kind words flowing in from the community had made a huge difference.

"I was crying for a whole day, man, I couldn't handle all the love," Mr Lee said.

"I had been in such a down mood for the last three because I was worrying about my future and everyone else's future."

He said the hardest part of the last three weeks was having to lay off his staff, which is why he was so relieved when the government announced their JobKeeper package.

The future remains uncertain for Wonton Express and Mr Lee's own livelihood, but he says he has peace of mind knowing that his former employees will at least have money coming in for now.