Won Kow Restaurant - 90-Year Old Chinatown Pioneer Closes as Owner Retires

Although most wouldn't consider Chinatown in the Sloop, we still like to keeps tabs on the neighborhood mostly because we love that it's so close.  Anyway, Eater has the scoop on a Chinatown pioneer closing up shop:

The oldest restaurant in Chicago’s Chinatown closed last week after 90 years on the South Side. Won Kow Restaurant, the once-bustling spot in the heart of Chicago’s Chinese community, closed on February 1. Signage at the restaurant read that the owner had decided to retire.

Won Kow was a community tentpole for nine decades at 2237 S. Wentworth Avenue. The neighborhood’s changed as much of the attention has shifted north to the intersection of Archer and Wentworth. There’s also more interest in Chinatown Square — the two-story outdoor mall. Reports dispute the year Won Kow opened — it was either in 1927 or 1928. Customers would haul up the stairs to find a massive dining room. Bartenders served large tiki-like drinks as diners enjoyed dim sum.

A sign on the window reads “we appreciate all the business that you have given us over the years. We hope that you have enjoying dining here as much as we have enjoyed serving you.”