Mee Heng Low is one of the last original buildings in San Luis Obipso’s Chinatown.
Nearly 75% of the street was once dedicated to businesses and homes for the Chinese, Japanese and Filipino people. Now, 1.5% of its structures survive, with much of its history physically reduced to a few buildings.
One of those buildings is Mee Heng Low, a Chop Suey restaurant that Paul Kwong bought in 2009. In 2020, his son Russell Kwong took over the business, becoming responsible for taking orders, cooking and managing the place situated on Palm Street near downtown.
However, older buildings present challenges, especially as modern development and codes are enforced. Kwong took notice of the construction of Hotel San Luis Obispo a few years ago, paces down from his restaurant.
“This hotel destroyed one of four Chinatown buildings,” he said. “They actually took this sign that says ‘Chop Suey’ and it’s now on the hotel—which is weird to me. I’m like, that’s not what they do. It’s almost insulting.”
The restaurant first opened in 1927. However, the architecture of the building itself has undergone multiple transformations to preserve the structure, according to local architectural historian James Papp.
The building was renovated again a few decades later. Papp believes there are still original parts of the wooden building embedded in the current one, but between him and Kwong, they have yet to find and confirm that.
The city is trying to keep some of its history alive, Kwong noted. They are working to provide information with the signs downtown, but Kwong said it’s “too little, too late.”
One of the most recent efforts is a restored neon sign reading “Chong’s homemade candies” adorned on the parking garage across the street. The sign was taken down from the original shop in February 1979.
Today, the sign is half a block away from where Richard Chong’s candy shop once stood, where a real estate company now occupies the space. A plaque with information is anticipated to be installed by February, according to Natalie Harnett, the City of San Luis Obispo policy and project manager.
“I think most people are probably to some degree unaware of the history there,” Harnett said.
The current Palm Street parking lot was a historical central site, showing artifacts from Chinatown’s trash pits and Native American history, archaeologist Terry Jones said.
The parking lot went through its fair share of reconstructing, most notably in September 2012, when the San Luis Obispo City Hall wanted to start its vision of a multi-storied parking garage, prompting an emergency excavation.
The excavation was so rushed that they bagged dirt from the area for volunteers to sift through for artifacts.
“The size of the collection became an enormous problem,” Jones said. “It’s just tremendous quantities of ceramics.”
Most of the current understanding of Chinatown’s history relies on records from more prominent, wealthy figures like Wong On, known as Ah Louis. Louis recruited labor, made a brickyard and owned a shop.
The Ah Louis store at the corner of Palm Street and Chorro Street stands strong as one of the few tangible links to Chinatown’s past. Built with bricks made by Ah Louis himself, the store is the only structure in San Luis Obispo County listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Inside, the building retains many of the original features, from its poles down to the central gas fixture on the ceiling. The Ah Louis store operates primarily as a wine shop, except for the holiday season where it sells ornaments, Christmas foliage and nutcrackers.
The store tries to spread awareness about Chinatown’s history, despite the inside business not being original to the location’s past.
In February 2024, the Ah Louis store held a Lunar New Year block celebration for its 150th anniversary. It was the busiest and most profitable day Mee Heng Low had seen in years. Kwong recounted cooking for nearly 11 consecutive hours for the celebration day.
“Wow, that was kind of miserable,” Russell said, laughing.
He’s leaning on a glass casing filled with restaurant memorabilia: from awards to porcelain statues and dishes. According to Kwong, it’s there for people interested in Chinatown’s history.
With 15 years of living in the city and working in the restaurant industry, he noted 2024 has been one of the slowest years he’s ever seen.
The sense of isolation as one of the last remnants of Chinatown never fully fades, he said, especially during difficult times. However, Kwong still feels pride in representing the little presence that still stands.
“It feels nice holding like the torch for Chinatown,” Kwong said. “And I am proud to do it.”