Downtown Memphis in Shelby County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
Chop Suey Café
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Chinese Merchants on Beale Street
Photographed by Steve Masler, April 3, 2020
1. Chop Suey Café Marker
Chop Suey Café. Chop Suey is actually an American dish created by early Chinese immigrants in the 1800s for gold miners in California. It is a stir-fried mixture of vegetables and meat in a starchy soy sauce served over rice. An instant success, chop suey became the standard Chinese food found in restaurants known as "chop suey houses.” The Chop Suey Café at 342 Beale Street was open for 47 years and is believed to be the longest operating Chinese restaurant in Memphis. Two Restaurateurs, Chu C. Lau and Chu Lain, opened it as the "Oriental Café” in 1920, and in 1922 a new owner, Ming Moy, renamed it “Moy Ming.” It became the "Chop Šuey Café” in 1923, managed by Ming Moy until 1930. There was a succession of owners from 1930 to 1953, the last being a man named Jew Sing. The restaurant closed in 1967.
Chinese Merchants of Beale Street. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 banned Chinese laborers from entering the United States but allowed merchants, students, scholars, and diplomats. These exceptions allowed Chinese to continue to immigrate and establish businesses throughout the U.S. The earliest known Chinese business in Memphis, a laundry, opened in 1873. Fourteen other laundries operated on Beale at various addresses from 1887 to 1915. Subsequently, from 1930 to 1963 up to five Chinese grocery stores opened
this page online
Erected 2019 by The Chinese Historical Society of Memphis and the Mid-South and the Shelby County Historical Society.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Asian Americans • Civil Rights • Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1922.
Location. 35° 8.366′ N, 90° 2.987′ W. Marker is in Memphis, Tennessee, in Shelby County. It is in Downtown Memphis. It is on Beale Street just west of South 4th Street, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 352 Beale St, Memphis TN 38103, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in West Tennessee. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, in the Upper South, in the Mississippi Delta, and in the Great River Road Region. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: The Memphis Home of W.C. Handy (a few steps from this marker); The Gillis Brothers (within shouting distance of this marker); Memphis Heritage Trail/Ida B. Wells (within shouting distance of this marker); Nat D. Williams (within shouting distance of
Photographed by Steve Masler, April 3, 2020
2. Chinese Merchants on Beale Street Marker
Photographed by J.T. Lambrou, October 14, 2023
3. Chop Suey Café / Chinese Merchants on Beale Street Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on May 2, 2024. It was originally submitted on April 3, 2020, by Steve Masler of Memphis, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 3,497 times since then and 102 times this year. It was the Marker of the Week May 12, 2024. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 3, 2020, by Steve Masler of Memphis, Tennessee. 3. submitted on November 2, 2023, by J.T. Lambrou of New Boston, Michigan. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
