West Sacramento, CA - Here is the iconic King's Chinese Restaurant located in West Sacramento, CA. Found at 1500 W Capitol Avenue, the Chinese restaurant has been a favorite for both locals and travelers alike for almost six decades.
King's Chinese Restaurant
West Sacramento, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Traveling along West Capitol Avenue, check out the wonderfully unusual neon sign for King’s Chinese Restaurant. The towering figure points toward the parking lot, just in case the words CHINESE FOOD were not enough to guide hungry travelers inside. Nothing like having a giant fellow standing beside the boulevard and personally directing traffic toward dinner.
King’s opened in 1960 along the old highway strip through West Sacramento. The restaurant became a local favorite for Chinese-American food and is remembered as the first place in the greater Sacramento area to offer dim sum from rolling carts. That may sound common now, but it must have been quite the experience when those carts first began making their way between the tables.
Check out the neon lettering on this sign. West Sacramento lost many neon signs during the great roadside signage purge in the early 2000s and this one was one of the best. So much for history.
King's parking lot
West Sacramento, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Inside, King’s retained the atmosphere of an old mid-century coffee shop. Leather booths, long counters, and vintage lighting gave the dining room the sort of lived-in character that cannot be ordered from a restaurant supply catalog. It was not fancy, but it had been there long enough to feel like it belonged.
Outside was the real roadside attraction. The enormous person-shaped marquee wore a traditional tunic and hat while pointing down toward the entrance. Neon tubing outlined the figure and lettering, turning the sign into a glowing beacon along West Capitol Avenue. It was colorful, unusual, and just a little odd, which is usually a pretty good combination for a roadside sign.
While the sign had been removed sometime around the turn to the 21st century, the restaurant remained popular for its authentic and delicious Chinese food. The restaurant opened in 1960 and its original owners decided to take a well-deserved retirement and do some travel.
King's Chinese Restaurant sign close-up
West Sacramento, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Unfortunately, West Sacramento’s updated sign ordinance caught up with the old fellow. The marquee was dismantled in July 2005 and replaced by a small ground-level plastic sign. After spending decades pointing customers toward King’s, the giant figure disappeared from the boulevard. Its current whereabouts remain unknown.
UPDATE: King’s Chinese Restaurant continued serving customers until October 29, 2017. After 57 years in business, its 93-year-old founder, Mr. Lam, finally decided it was time to retire. The building was later acquired by the owners of Zócalo, but the person-shaped neon sign that once made this stretch of West Capitol Avenue so memorable is long gone. 09-26
Well as the saying goes, most good things come to an end. For King's Chinese, the good things were the cool (and tall) neon signage and perhaps most importantly the end of the delicious authentic Chinese food. A big hit was the addition of dim sum to the menu in 1980 which upped the loyalty count.
King's Chinese Restaurant
King's parking lot
King's Chinese Restaurant sign close-up
