Restaurant’s historic neon sign renovated and relit in SLO’s Chinatown
Downtown San Luis Obispo’s Chinatown district got a colorful upgrade on Wednesday night when a historic noodle shop unveiled its newly renovated neon sign.
When Mee Heng Low at 815 Palm St. won a $50,000 grant from the Backing Historic Small Restaurants grant program, owner and chef Russell Kwong knew exactly what he wanted to do with the money.
The restaurant’s broken neon lights required some much-needed TLC, and 10 months after Kwong first applied for the grant, the neon is glowing bright again.
“I’m stoked,” Kwong told The Tribune. “I’m thinking about other buildings that pop as much as this does, and there’s nothing really off the top of my head.”
On Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., Mee Heng Low turned on its lights and celebrated the reinstallation of bright neon lighting up downtown SLO’s Chinatown.
“There’s some pretty iconic signs around town‚ there’s obviously other Chinatown signs, you’ve got the Wineman, The Library, McCarthy’s iconic signs,” he said. “But I think ours is definitely up there, and it’s this big, bold (display), and it’s also just elevated the surrounding businesses as well. There’s a fun glow to the sidewalk. It’s really livened up the entire street which is awesome.”
For the evening of celebration, Cal Poly’s Lion Dance club performed in front of Mee Heng Low, where its lion “inspected” the restaurant, ate a cabbage then regurgitated it in front of the building, which is a token for good luck, Kwong said.
What’s next for the historic downtown Chinatown restaurant?
Kwong was notified Mee Heng Low won the grant on the same day he learned that the building was being sold. Kwong said five to six groups have already toured the building, but the restaurant’s future remains at a standstill.
“Whoever buys it is going to have to put a much greater investment into it afterward,” he said. “That’s kind of daunting for some buyers, but I think the right person can do it.”
Mee Heng Low is listed on Anderson & Senn Commercial Real Estate’s website, with a price reduction of $100,000, sitting at $895,000 as of Friday.
“We’re still open and ready for business,” Kwong said. “End on a strong note, if this is it, then we want to go out having a good time.”
