The seal of the Shelby County Tennessee
CHOP SUEY CAFÉ
Chop Suey is actually an American dish created by early Chinese immigrants in the 1800s for gold miners in California. It is a stir-fried mixture of vegetables and meat in a starchy soy sauce served over rice. An instant success, chop suey became the standard Chinese food found in restaurants known as "chop suey houses." The Chop Suey Café at 342 Beale Street was open for 47 years and is believed to be the longest operating Chinese restaurant in Memphis. Two restaurateurs, Chu C. Lau and Chu Lain, opened it as the "Oriental Café" in 1920, and in 1922 a new owner, Ming Moy, renamed it "Moy Ming." It became the "Chop Suey Café" in 1923, managed by Ming Moy until 1930. There was a succession of owners from 1930 to 1953, the last being a man named Jew Sing. The restaurant closed in 1967.

SPONSORED BY THE CHINESE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF MEMPHIS AND THE MID-SOUTH AND THE SHELBY COUNTY HISTORICAL COMMISSION, MAY 2019

The sign stands on the site of the historic Chop Suey Café and was inaugurated at the Memphis Chinese History and Culture Festival celebrations on September 15, 2019.