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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-23-2026 Speaker SlipsCITTOT SJINI(IIS OBISPO SPEAKER CARD The City Council and staff appreciate your participation at this public meeting. Meetin Date: D -/(.Email or Phone optio Print Name:5 ional): Provide name the it sou on Item No.Su ct: Note: Completion of this rd is voluntary. All citizens may attend meetings and address the City Council However, this fo rm will assist the Mayor in facilitating public comments, the City Clerk's office in ensuring the correct spelling of names in the minutes (addresses are not included in the minutes), and enable staff to fo llow up with speakers, as appropriate Municipal Advocate/Lobbying: lf you are paid by any other person or organization to communicate with any officer, employee, or commission of the City of San Luis Obispo for the purpose of influencing local legislative or discretionary action, you may qualify as a municipal advocate or lobbyist. lf you are not already registered, please fill out a MunicipalAdvocate registration form (available in the foyer). (SLOMC Section 2.64) PLEASE GIVE THIS CARD TO THE CITY CLERK Mee Heng Low Neon Restoration In the past month, Mee Heng Low’s neon blade sign and canopy were restored with a $50,000 grant from the National Trust and American Express for legacy restaurants It joins Chinatown neon on the Palm Theatre … … from the old Shanghai Low, now on the Hotel SLO (as mandated in redevelopment conditions) … … and Chong’s Candy on the parking garage. Mee Heng Low was founded by Gin Jack in 1927, during the chow mein boom, when four noodle houses—including Chong’s Café, the Gold Dragon, and Tuey Bill’s—opened in the space of 20 months in a town of only 7,000. But Gin Jack’s Mee Heng Low was formerly Gin Dip’s Hong Kong Restaurant, open by 1910 in the same location and building during the early-century chop suey boom. Hence Mee Heng Low—called by the New York Times “one of the oldest and most revered Chinese restaurants in the country”—can claim to be the second oldest Chinese restaurant in the United States at at least 116 years. The circa 1950 Mee Heng Low blade sign hung on the original 1874 Ah Louis Store that was moved across the street when the brick store was built in 1885. The Gin family demolished the 1874 building in 1957 but installed the sign on the new building. The grant competition—which awarded only 1 in 50 applicants— emphasized the history of local foodways and the restaurant as a community institution. Mee Heng Low’s Russell Kwong; County Arts Council ED Jordan Chesnut, and I wrote the grant, which also funds a permanent installation on the unique Chinese noodle history of San Luis Obispo. Filmmaker Kristie Chow is including Mee Heng Low in her film series on America’s oldest Chinese restaurants. The country’s oldest, Fresno’s Chicago Café, has closed since her film, showing the fragility of these institutions. Preservationists save buildings, but it is the businesses in them that hold most meaning for the community. crrroF snnl,uls oBrspo SPEAKER CARD The Gity Council and staff appreciate your participation at this public meeting Date:Ta,b 15, Zozb Email or Phone (optional qts eb b r,PMeetin Print Name:S Provide name the way it sounds (phonetically): Item No.Subiect:6tr Pis rvuo sh44j^ Note: Completion of this card is voluntary. All citizens may attend meetings and address the City Council. However, this form will assist the Mayor in facilitating public comments, the City Clerk's office in ensuring the correct spelling of names in the minutes (addresses are not included in the minutes), and enable staff to follow up with speakers, as appropriate. Municipal Advocate/Lobbying: lf you are paid by any other person or organization to communicate with any officer, employee, or commission of the City of San Luis Obispo for the purpose of influencing local legislative or discretionary action, you may qualify as a municipal advocate or lobbyist. lf you are not already registered, please fill out a MunicipalAdvocate registration form (available in the foyer). (SLOMC Section 2.64) PLEASE GIVE THIS CARD TO THE CITY CLERK S rAddress6ron