Orient Chop Suey (Gone)
IL
Photo courtesy Don Gardner

Here's a nice old sign from Illinois. The Orient Chop Suey Restaurant featured a great two-sided marquee that made sure passing motorists knew takeout was available. It's a simple design, but the large "Take Out" panel gives the sign plenty of personality and makes it easy to see why it caught people's attention.

While very little information has surfaced about the restaurant itself, the sign has managed to outlive the business. Like many neighborhood chop suey restaurants of the era, the food may have brought people in, but it was the colorful marquee that helped make the place memorable.

Fortunately, the sign wasn't lost when the restaurant closed. It was removed and preserved, eventually becoming part of the traveling Darkness Electrified neon exhibition. It's always good to see an old sign given a second life rather than ending up in a scrapyard.

UPDATE: The restaurant is gone, but the two-sided Orient Chop Suey marquee survives. It has been preserved and continues to appear as part of the traveling Darkness Electrified neon exhibition. 07-26

Bali-Hai Restaurant (Demolished)
Euclid, OH
Photo courtesy Steve Felder

Bali-Hai Restaurant had one of the more unusual restaurant signs in the Cleveland area. Located along Euclid Avenue, this Euclid favorite combined a colorful tropical marquee with a Chinese-American restaurant, making it a memorable sight for passing motorists.

Inspired by the fictional island of Bali Hai from South Pacific, the restaurant embraced the Polynesian theme that became popular during the mid-century tiki era. Inside, customers could enjoy Cantonese and American dishes, tropical drinks, and eventually a banquet room for larger gatherings. Some locals even remember stopping in for pizza!

UPDATE: Bali-Hai Restaurant has been demolished, and the property has been redeveloped. Its distinctive tropical sign disappeared in the early 1990s, and its whereabouts are unknown. 07-26

Lang Lee Chop Suey (Gone)
Evergreen Park, IL
Photo courtesy Bruce R. Cassi / 1998

Lang Lee Chop Suey was a familiar neighborhood takeout in Evergreen Park, Illinois. The little restaurant attracted quite a crowd, especially on Sunday evenings when more than 30 people sometimes squeezed inside waiting for their orders.

Opened by Lang Lee in 1958, the family-run business became a longtime local favorite. Its vintage White Way sign advertised “Lang Lee Chop Suey to Take Home” and “Finest Chinese Food,” reflecting an era when neighborhood chop suey restaurants invested in distinctive roadside displays. A second restaurant, Lang Lee II, later opened in Orland Park with full-service dining.

UPDATE: The original Lang Lee Chop Suey and the later Lang Lee II restaurant have both closed. The Evergreen Park building and its distinctive vintage sign are gone. 07-26

Kitty's Chop Suey (Rem.)
Garden City, MI
Photo courtesy Alan Culley

Kitty’s Chop Suey recalls the days when neighborhood Chinese restaurants proudly advertised themselves as chop suey houses. The original sign in Garden City, Michigan, was a nice example of the restaurant marquees that once gave busy commercial streets so much character.

The restaurant has served familiar Chinese-American favorites to generations of customers. Although the original sign has disappeared, the business has continued under the simpler name Kitty’s Restaurant. Its menu still includes longtime favorites such as almond boneless chicken, egg rolls, and wonton soup, keeping a connection to the restaurant’s earlier days.

UPDATE: Kitty’s Restaurant remains open in Garden City, although the original Kitty’s Chop Suey sign has been replaced with modern signage. The old marquee is gone, but customers can still stop in for the familiar food that helped make the restaurant a neighborhood favorite. 07-26

Orange Garden
Chicago, IL
Photo courtesy Chibbqking

Here's another great old Chinese restaurant from Chicago. The Orange Garden prominently displayed the words "Chop Suey" on its colorful neon sign, leaving no doubt about what was being served inside. According to Chibbqking, the restaurant looked like it hadn't changed much since the 1950s, complete with black leather booths and dim lighting. 07-09

Orange Garden opened in 1924 and adopted its current name in 1932. It is recognized as Chicago’s oldest continuously operating Chinese restaurant, with interior murals dating to the 1940s and a wall clock that has been there since the early 1930s. The Ruan family has maintained the restaurant’s longtime traditions through the years.

UPDATE: Orange Garden remains open and continues serving its longtime Chinese-American favorites. Unfortunately, its distinctive double-sided porcelain neon “Chop Suey” sign was removed and sold at auction in 2022. 07-26