How Chinese immigrants brought restaurants to Newfoundland

The history of restaurants in Newfoundland and Labrador begins with a group of people some diners might not expect.

Miriam Wright, an associate professor of history at the University of Windsor, told CBC News in a recent interview that before the First World War, the only public eating establishments in St. John's were hotels and boarding houses, as dining out was done only out of necessity by travellers.

But that started to change with the arrival of people looking for economic opportunity.

"Chinese immigrants in Newfoundland basically built the restaurant sector," said Miriam Wright, who has researched Chinese restaurants with partner Robert Hong as part of a public history project on Chinese immigration in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Wright said Newfoundland presented a unique opportunity for Chinese men who wanted to move to North America in the 1920s, when United States and Canada had banned virtually all Chinese immigration.

In Newfoundland, Chinese women and children were not allowed entry, but Chinese men were allowed in, provided they paid a head tax of $300, which would have been roughly an entire year's wages at the time.

Despite the fee, Chinese immigrants still came to Newfoundland, looking for opportunities, Wright said, but racism in the workforce meant Chinese people could primarily work only in laundries. But with the laundry business in St. John's saturated by the late 1920s, Chinese immigrants turned their attention to a type of business largely unexplored in in the province: restaurants.

"They really had to sort of build the idea of the restaurants, as something that was an experience. It was something that you did because you wanted to, not because you had to," said Wright.

These early restaurants were a success, serving foods that Newfoundlanders would already recognize, like pork chops, roast chicken, and fish and chips. Around 40 establishments in St. John's were open by the end of the 1930s, and their success led to Chinese restaurants expanding across the province.

Wright said the restaurants succeeded because they offered people a social space to interact outside church. Other than movie theatres, Wright said, there was no place for people to meet and chat, making early Chinese restaurants a big draw for young people.  

But offering a social space came with risks, said Wright, and the restaurants were also sometimes spaces of violence.

Chinese immigrants had faced racial violence since their arrival in Newfoundland, she said, and their businesses were vandalized and attacked.

"There are numerous accounts in the newspapers of people, usually young men, white Newfoundland men, causing problems in these places, either getting drunk and smashing things or assaulting the workers or the cafe owners."

That history of violence rings a bell with Ivan Tom, the owner of Lee's Snack and Confectionery in Stephenville. When his parents bought the restaurant in 1970, he said, it wasn't smooth sailing at first.