The Andy Griffith Show, which aired from 1960-1968, is a beloved and iconic comedy series. The core of the story centered on Sheriff Andy Taylor, a widower who is raising his son, Opie, with the assistance of his Aunt Bee, all in the small town of Mayberry, North Carolina. The show pulled in high ratings throughout its run, and is commonly listed as one of the best series in television.
Today though, the series receives some criticism on the basis that there was very little in the way of diversity. Thus, I was surprised to learn that one of the episodes was driven by a plot revolving around a Chinese restaurant. Fortunately, the episode presented a very positive image upon release, reaching households all across the country, and possibly helping to break erroneous preconceptions and prejudices against the Chinese.
The episode, Aunt Bee’s Restaurant, aired on February 6, 1967. At that time in the fictional town of Mayberry, there were few restaurants, most of which were diners, that provided basic American fare. As the episode begins, Andy and his friend, Gomer Pyle, are discussing what they would eat for lunch before Aunt Bee joins them. When Bee shows, she mentions that she might stop by the Spare Ribs Tavern and bring some home for dinner. However, Gomer mentions that the restaurant had closed the day before. Aunt Bee then stops by the Spare Ribs Tavern to speak to the owner, Henry. The restaurant menu is mainly standard American, such as beef stew, roast beef, chicken fried steak, and ham with lima beans. They also served hot dogs, pizza, meatballs, and their signature dish: barbecued ribs.
With Henry not present, Aunt Bee speaks with chef Charlie Lee, who tells her that he plans to leave Mayberry and return to Pittsburgh. Bee is disappointed, expressing that he is an excellent chef. Charlie then pivots to tell her that he thinks a Chinese restaurant in Mayberry would have been an excellent idea. He explains that he began learning how to cook Chinese cuisine when he was 17 years old, and that he can prepare items like chop suey, chow mein, and egg rolls.
Though Charlie would enjoy opening such a restaurant himself, there is a $400 hurdle to renovate the tavern and turn it into a Chinese restaurant, funding that Charlie does not possess. As Bee leaves the restaurant, she finds a penny on the floor, and Charlie tells her it is her lucky day. Aunt Bee, being a superstitious woman, considers the penny to be a sign, and decides to invest in the Chinese restaurant, against Andy’s advice.
Charlie Lee’s nephew, Jack, arrives in Mayberry to be the waiter in the new restaurant, and help Charlie and Bee carry out the renovations. The place is then decorated with large Chinese screens, lanterns, and other cultural items.
The Grand Opening of “Aunt Bee’s Canton Palace” is then held, and the restaurant becomes packed. One of the guests raves about the Moo Goo Gai Pan, a dish he had never eaten before. Andy, his girlfriend Helen, Howard, and Gomer are all present for the affair. Howard orders a chicken dish, Ling Chi Chi, a bowl of food resembling a Chinese matzo ball soup. Andy, Helen and Gomer ordered the $1.95 chow mein dinner. Everyone thoroughly enjoys their meal and cannot wait to return.
At the end of the night, Bee sits down with Andy and friends, and a plate of fortune cookies is brought to the table. Bee is pleased that they saw a revenue of $80 (about $633 in today’s dollars) for the night. However, the mood shifts slightly when Bee opens her fortune cookie, refusing to tell anyone what it says. Andy later sees her fortune, which reads, “Beware of new business ventures, they can prove costly.” Bee, once again falling toward her superstitions, is greatly concerned.
The next day, Bee tries to best her fortune by attempting to get Charlie to make changes to his restaurant, from adding more seasoning to the chow mein to expanding the menu to include steaks and spaghetti. Charlie is, understandably, not happy with such changes, thinking it will put him out of business as he attempts to convince Bee not to dwell on her fortune. With the attempts ending in failure, Jack opts to buy out Bee, giving her back her $400 investment. The Chinese restaurant is never mentioned again in future episodes, however, it canonically remains in business.
Charlie Lee was played by Keye Luke, a Seattle resident and native of Guangzhou, China, born on June 18, 1904. His lengthy acting career began in 1934, his roles including “Number One Son” in the Charlie Chan films and Kato in the Green Hornet film serials. He would also play the blind Master Po in the 1972 Kung Fu series. He was the first Chinese-American contract player signed by RKO, Universal Pictures and MGM. He died of a stroke in 1991.
Jack was played by Lloyd Kino (Kinoshita), who was born on May 18, 1919, in Seattle, Washington. He too had a lengthy acting career, appearing in numerous television series from McHale’s Navy to CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (and one episode of Kung Fu), as well a number of movies from Mortal Kombat to Godzilla, to The Cable Guy, to The Last Tycoon. He passed away in 2012.
This Andy Griffith episode depicted Chinese restaurants in a very positive manner, and due to its immense popularity, likely was influential in persuading Americans to dine at such restaurants. With Chinese restaurants receiving so much negative publicity over the years, it is always uplifting to see a more positive depiction. And, it is cool to imagine the Canton Palace having a lengthy and successful history in Mayberry.