Sam Woo Restaurant

File:SamWooMississauga.jpg

Sam Woo location in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, which closed in February 2020.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Sam Woo Restaurant (Template:Lang) was a restaurant chain that served Hong Kong–style cuisine.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It had many locations in predominantly overseas Chinese communities of Southern California,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> in Las Vegas, and in the suburbs of Toronto.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Many of the chain's locations have closed.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The complete Chinese name (Template:Lang) literally means "Three Harmonies Roast Meats and Noodle House."

History

The first delicatessen was opened in 1979 in the Los Angeles Chinatown.<ref name="chaplin2020">Template:Cite web</ref> It later spread to other locations in California, including Monterey Park and Alhambra.Template:Cn

Two other locations in the San Gabriel Valley opened only to later change hands or close. One restaurant opened in Montebello, which was renamed to "A-1" (now closed) when an employee purchased it from the Sam Woo owners.Template:Cn In 2004, a Sam Woo also opened in the suburb of Covina, California, but it failed the following year.Template:Cn

There are two types of Sam Woo restaurants. The first is named Sam Woo BBQ Restaurant (Template:Lang).Template:EfnTemplate:Clarification needed

In 1992, presidential candidate Bill Clinton held a fundraiser at a now-defunct Sam Woo Seafood Restaurant in San Gabriel, California.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2003, Sam Woo and other Chinese businesses in San Gabriel were affected by the SARS panic, despite lack of evidence SARS cases in the area.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Customer patronage declined and the restaurant closed.Template:Cn

In Southern California, hoping to capitalize on the success of Sam Woo Restaurants, restaurateurs have opened imitations with similar names in English and Chinese. Examples include the long-gone Sam Doo Restaurant in San Gabriel and the current S.W. Seafood Restaurant in Irvine.Template:Cn In the early 1990s, a similar concept to Sam Woo Restaurant, the now-defunct Luk Yue Restaurant, also started in Los Angeles Chinatown and like Sam Woo, it expanded into the Chinese community of Monterey Park, Rowland Heights, and Cerritos.Template:Cn

See also

• List of Chinese restaurants
• List of seafood restaurants