Saving the oldest Chinese restaurant in Chinatown
Donation protected
Support the Far East Café, the surviving oldest Chinese restaurant in San Francisco’s Chinatown. In recent years, the city’s rising cost has led to the vanishing of banquet-style Chinese restaurants from Chinatown, such as the Four Seas and Empress of China. These restaurants are not only dining places, but also community spaces for the Chinese Americans in the Bay Area. Many families held wedding receptions at these restaurants.
The Far East Café has been hit especially hard by the outbreak of COVID-19 from the numerous cancelled reservations due to the strong wave of anti-Asian racism since January this year and the continuous infeasibility to host large banquets during the surging pandemic. However, the restaurant has relied mainly on large banquets to stay in operation. Right now, it is facing the challenge of closing soon.
The architectural representations and interior ornamentations of the Far East Café witness the efforts of Chinese American leaders to save Chinatown from being permanently removed from the city after the 1906 earthquake and fire. The exterior demonstrates the purposeful marketing scheme of reconstructing Chinatown into an Oriental city. The ornate interior speaks more about Chinese businessowners’ dedication to preserving Chinese material culture, from the Kingfisher feather lanterns to the Chinese paintings, which were all directly imported from China and arrived in wooden crates around 1915.
(Kingfisher Feather Lantern and Chinese Painting at Far East Cafe, Photo by Hongyan Yang)
(A close-up of a Kingfisher Feather Lantern at Far East Cafe, Photo by Hongyan Yang)
The fund raised will be dedicated to historic preservation efforts to restore the character-defining features of the restaurant. One goal is to have preservation professionals to restore these 19th- and 20th-century Chinese kingfisher feather lanterns. The current quote we obtained from ACdR Conservation is between $21,600 and $28,800. The company conducted previous restoration work for the Empress of China. We are in the process of obtaining multiple quotes from other preservation professionals. The fund will also be used for a City Historic Landmark Designation. I am leading the research for this designation and coordinating the communications among the parties involved.
Your support, big or small, would contribute to saving this Chinatown historic landmark. Thank you very much for all of your support!
Much Love,
Hongyan Yang
(Submitting on behalf of the President of Far East Cafe Bill Lee)
The Far East Café has been hit especially hard by the outbreak of COVID-19 from the numerous cancelled reservations due to the strong wave of anti-Asian racism since January this year and the continuous infeasibility to host large banquets during the surging pandemic. However, the restaurant has relied mainly on large banquets to stay in operation. Right now, it is facing the challenge of closing soon.
The architectural representations and interior ornamentations of the Far East Café witness the efforts of Chinese American leaders to save Chinatown from being permanently removed from the city after the 1906 earthquake and fire. The exterior demonstrates the purposeful marketing scheme of reconstructing Chinatown into an Oriental city. The ornate interior speaks more about Chinese businessowners’ dedication to preserving Chinese material culture, from the Kingfisher feather lanterns to the Chinese paintings, which were all directly imported from China and arrived in wooden crates around 1915.
(Kingfisher Feather Lantern and Chinese Painting at Far East Cafe, Photo by Hongyan Yang)(A close-up of a Kingfisher Feather Lantern at Far East Cafe, Photo by Hongyan Yang)The fund raised will be dedicated to historic preservation efforts to restore the character-defining features of the restaurant. One goal is to have preservation professionals to restore these 19th- and 20th-century Chinese kingfisher feather lanterns. The current quote we obtained from ACdR Conservation is between $21,600 and $28,800. The company conducted previous restoration work for the Empress of China. We are in the process of obtaining multiple quotes from other preservation professionals. The fund will also be used for a City Historic Landmark Designation. I am leading the research for this designation and coordinating the communications among the parties involved.
Your support, big or small, would contribute to saving this Chinatown historic landmark. Thank you very much for all of your support!
Much Love,
Hongyan Yang
(Submitting on behalf of the President of Far East Cafe Bill Lee)
Organizer
Hongyan Yang
Organizer
San Francisco, CA