FOOD NEWS
A Small Town In Montana Has The Oldest Chinese Restaurant
BY LISA CURRAN MATTE
You might assume the oldest Chinese restaurant in the U.S. would be in New York or San Francisco, but it’s actually in Butte, Montana, a one-time mining boom town.
Pekin Noodle Parlor was founded in 1911 by Tam Kwong Yee and Hum Yow, first-generation Chinese-Americans. The restaurant occupies a building that was once part of Chinatown.
The noodle parlor was a few blocks away before Yee and Yow moved to the current Main Street location. The sign outside mysteriously reads "Pekin Chop Suey."
Tam Kwong Yee’s great-nephew, Danny Wong, bought the business in the 1950s. As of 2020, Wong’s youngest son, Jerry Tam, has the helm and you can still dine there.