In Pursuit of Merchant Status: The Migration Strategy of Early Twentieth Chinese Restaurant Owners under Chinese Exclusion

This post originally appeared in the 2022 issue of The American Historian. In 1921, dozens of investors celebrated the grand opening of Chin Lee’s Restaurant in New York. Located on the northern edge of the Times Square theatre district, their restaurant nourished youthful desires for frivolous fun.[1] Vaudeville line-ups, cabaret performers, and dance orchestras entertained […]