How much did Chinese restaurants earn during the 1920s? How were they financed? And what did they pay their employees? We can get some insight into the answers through examining two restaurants, the Royal Restaurant in Chinatown and the Imperial Restaurant in Cambridge, both connected by one of the same partners, Chung Moi.

Chung Moi was born in China and came to San Francisco in 1912, where he remained for about three years before moving to Boston. There, he first worked as a manager at the Imperial Restaurant, which had opened in 1915 for only two years. In 1919, Moi began working as a manager at the Royal Restaurant, having purchased a $500 ownership interest from the prior manager, and soon thereafter acquiring an additional $1200 interest.

The Royal Restaurant had 42 partners, with a total interest of $15,490, although only five were active, including Moi. The additional active partners included Ng Chung, who worked as a cashier and had a $1400 interest, Wong Foon, who worked as a cook and had a $300 interest, Lang Yow, who worked in the kitchen and had a $200 interest, and Quong Kwok Kee, who worked as a waiter and had a $100 interest. Do you know any waiters in modern restaurants who are active partners in a restaurant?

The Royal Restaurant seated over 100 people, was protected with $12,000 in insurance, and paid a monthly rent of $275. The restaurant made over $6,000 a month and in the previous year paid 10% in dividends to the partners. Today, that monthly $6,000 would be equivalent to about $86,000, equating to about $1 million a year. Chung originally received $90 a month (about $1200 today) in his position as the manager, but that amount decreased to $70 when business declined.

Chung Moy didn’t last long at that restaurant, leaving the U.S. in June 1921 and traveling back to China, where he got married and had a son. He returned to the U.S. in 1923, without his family, and became a partner in the Imperial Restaurant in Cambridge. He purchased a $700 interest from Jung Hoy Lan, who was likely his father. Chung also replaced Howard Chew as the manager.

There were 33 partners in the restaurant, though only seven were active. The active partners included Howard Chew, who worked as a cashier and buyer and had a $500 interest, Chu Chung, who worked as a cook and was in charge of the kitchen, and had a $500 interest, Chu Jung Yu, who worked as a cook and had a $500 interest, Quan Chuck, who worked as a waiter and had a $500 interest, Ling Gim, who worked as a cook and had a $500 interest, and Chu Yick Yin, who worked as a cook and had a $500 interest. The total capitalization of the restaurant was $13,500.

As the manager, Chung earned a salary of $100 per month. The restaurant, which sat about 170 people, leased their second-floor location, and their lease was set to expire in 1931. The premises had about $18,000 in insurance, including fire, plate glass and liability. An examination of the restaurants’ books showed it made an average of $3500 a month, an equivalent today of about $52,000, or $624,000 a year. In 1936, Chung Moi decided to sell his interest in the restaurant and move to California.

In comparing the Royal Restaurant and Imperial Restaurant, we see that both were large-size restaurants and required a fair amount of capital to establish, garnering from 42 partners and 33 partners, respectively. The five active partners at the Royal had interests ranging from $100 to $1700, while the seven active partners at the Imperial averaged at $500 interest each.

It generally cost about $500 to start a Chinese laundry. Starting a restaurant was more expensive and beyond the means of many Chinese. That is an important reason why so many Chinese started laundries rather than restaurants. However, by forming larger partnerships, they could become part of a restaurant for a similar investment to starting a laundry. As for the active partners, they all worked in the restaurant, occupying positions from waiter to cook, cashier to manager. Little was said about the silent partners in these restaurants, except the one time they received dividends of 10%.

We also got a small glimpse into some of the monthly wages of the restaurant workers, such as Chung who received a salary ranging from $70 to $100 a month as a manager. As for the restaurants’ incomes, the Royal was earning about $6000 a month while the Imperial only earned about $3500. Considering the low cost of much of the Chinese cuisine, these restaurants were likely doing a very good business, especially the Royal.

With many thanks to Dr. Raymond Douglas Chong, who provided me a copy of the Immigration & Naturalization file of Chung Moi, his grandfather, which provided much of the financial information for this article. 

For more information, you may read Richard Auffrey’s more detailed article on this matter online at: https://passionatefoodie.blogspot.com/2020/06/the-first-restaurants-in-bostons.html

To read this article in Chinese (Traditional), please click here.