Wong's Restaurant
Garden Grove, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Check out the collection of shapes assembled on the sign for Wong’s Restaurant in Garden Grove. The marquee had enough angles and separate panels to make a simple dinner announcement into a roadside display. An ordinary rectangle apparently wasn’t going to cover this menu.
The sign belonged to the era when neighborhood restaurants put some imagination into attracting passing motorists. Customers came for Chinese food, while sign hunters had something to study before getting through the entrance.
Wong’s also left behind fond memories of family dinners and its old dining room. Places like this became familiar through repeat visits, with the exterior serving as a welcome long before anyone placed an order.
UPDATE: Wong’s has closed. Historical listings place the restaurant on Westminster Avenue, and a local retrospective dates its closure to 2012. 10-26
Canton City (Rem.)
Montebello, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
A welcoming sign gave Canton City in Montebello an introduction worth noticing. Before the food reached the table, the old marquee supplied a little roadside character outside. It was the sort of restaurant announcement that could turn looking for dinner into looking at neon.
The restaurant carried on after that familiar sign was removed. For regular customers, the kitchen remained the attraction, although passing sign hunters lost one reason to glance toward the building.
That distinction matters along these older commercial streets. A restaurant can keep serving its neighborhood even after the exterior loses something that made it memorable. The meal survives, but the drive past doesn’t look quite the same.
UPDATE : Unfortunately, the Canton City sign
was removed from the building though the restaurant is still open.
UPDATE: Canton City continues operating on North Garfield Avenue in Montebello. Its original vintage sign was removed, but the restaurant remains in business. 10-26
Ming's Chinese Food
Bellflower, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The rooftop sign at Ming’s Chinese Food in Bellflower gave this neighborhood restaurant a greeting from above. The building and its lettering had that familiar, slightly weathered appearance that suggested plenty of meals had passed through the kitchen. This was a place worth a closer look before deciding what to order.
Ming’s had a regular following, serving the kind of Chinese-American food customers remembered from earlier visits. For longtime patrons, returning meant another meal at a familiar neighborhood spot. For roadside admirers, the exterior offered an additional attraction.
The roof-mounted sign did its advertising above the storefront, where passing motorists had a better chance of noticing it. Its placement gave the restaurant a recognizable profile from across the street, while a closer inspection supplied another view of the lettering.
Ming's Chinese Food
Bellflower, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
An unverified tale describes the sound of tea being poured on foggy nights, accompanied by a faint amber glow where the old roof sign once stood. Really? Perhaps one last pot was still making the rounds.
UPDATE: Ming’s Chinese Restaurant at 17812 Bellflower Boulevard is listed as permanently closed, ending the run of a longtime neighborhood dining spot. 10-26
Shanghai Low Restaurant
San Luis Obispo, CA Photo courtesy Georg Balandran
The tall “CHOP SUEY” lettering gives Shanghai Low Restaurant a roadside introduction with plenty of character. Decorative scrollwork, circular crest details, and the shaped lower panel make this more than a simple announcement that dinner is available. There’s quite a bit to admire before getting to the restaurant’s name.
Shanghai Low belonged to San Luis Obispo’s historic Chinatown along Palm Street, near the Ah Louis Store and Mee Heng Low. Its sign recalls the Chinese-American restaurants that helped give these older commercial districts their own nighttime appearance.
The restaurant building eventually disappeared, but fortunately the sign escaped the same fate. Salvaged and restored, it found another home along Palm Street, bringing a familiar piece of Chinatown’s dining history into a much newer setting.
Even the name received another life. Hotel San Luis Obispo’s S.Low Bar pays tribute to Shanghai Low, keeping a connection to the restaurant that once welcomed customers nearby. The kitchen is gone, but its old dinner invitation still has something to say.
UPDATE: Shanghai Low Restaurant has closed and its building was demolished. The restored original sign is displayed outside Hotel San Luis Obispo on Palm Street, near the Piadina entrance. The hotel’s S.Low Bar also honors the former restaurant. 10-26
Twin Dragon Restaurant Photo courtesy Georg Balandran
A little neon splendor accompanied the Shanghai cuisine advertised at Twin Dragon Restaurant. The exterior gave hungry motorists a bright invitation and supplied sign hunters with a reason to stop even before the menu entered the discussion.
The Pico Boulevard restaurant dates to 1962, making it part of an earlier generation of Los Angeles Chinese dining. Long before the San Gabriel Valley became widely known for its restaurants, places like Twin Dragon were familiar destinations for Westside customers.
That history adds something to the roadside display. The sign represented more than a dinner announcement; it belonged to a restaurant generations of customers came to recognize along the boulevard.
UPDATE: Twin Dragon’s Pico Boulevard address remains listed online, but current ordering pages show no available service hours. The reported September 2023 permanent closure and removal of its sign could not be confirmed. 10-26
Jade Ocean Restaurant
Alhambra, CA Photo courtesy Adriene Biondo
A restaurant with a former life as a cleaners gives Jade Ocean in Alhambra something extra to show off. The glass frontage and tall Deco fin carried the building’s earlier character into its dining-room years. Apparently a change of business didn’t require giving up the interesting roofline.
The vertical feature makes a fine contrast to the lower storefront, drawing the eye upward before the restaurant name gets its turn. Along a street full of commercial buildings, a detail like that can make the difference between driving past and stopping for another look.
The building dates to 1936, putting its origins well before Jade Ocean’s seafood dinners. Its transition from garment care to restaurant use gave the property another chapter while retaining the architectural features that made it distinctive. Pressed shirts and steamed fish didn’t have much in common, but they shared an unusually good-looking home.
Jade Ocean Restaurant
Alhambra, CA Photo courtesy Adriene Biondo
By 1998, Jade Ocean was attracting attention as a Cantonese seafood restaurant in an Art Deco setting trimmed with pink neon. Hungry customers had the menu to consider, while roadside enthusiasts could find plenty to admire outside.
UPDATE: Jade Ocean has closed, and its former location on West Valley Boulevard now houses Boat House, a seafood restaurant. The 1936 property is included in Alhambra’s historic survey. 10-26
Wong's Restaurant
Canton City (Rem.)
Ming's Chinese Food
Ming's Chinese Food
Shanghai Low Restaurant
Twin Dragon Restaurant
Jade Ocean Restaurant
Jade Ocean Restaurant
