A nearly century-old Chinese restaurant in San Luis Obispo’s Chinatown is preparing to close. Mee Heng Low Noodle House will serve its final meal this weekend. Owner and chef Russell Kwong announced the closure on social media.
Mee Heng Low Noodle House Set to Close
Gin Jack opened Mee Heng Low in San Luis Obispo’s Chinatown in 1927 under the name Noodle Boom. It is one of the longest continuous Chinese-owned restaurants in the region and has been serving for almost a century.
In 1933, Gin bought the restaurant building and changed California’s anti-Asian property law, according to its official website.
The restaurant is well known for authentic handcrafted Chinese noodles, bao, dumplings, and other traditional dishes. The Kwong family purchased the restaurant in 2009, and Russell Kwong later took over its operation. Kwong trained under James Beard Award-winning chef Vitaly Paley at Imperial in Hotel Lucia.
The restaurant, located at 815 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, California, will serve its final bowl of noodles on August 29, 2026.
Reflecting on his time with the restaurant, Kwong posted, “17 years of business is nothing to sneeze at. I’ve worked on and off at this restaurant longer than my father at this point and longer than I lived in my childhood home.”
View this post on Instagram
Reason Behind the Closure
In the announcement, Kwong said the restaurant building had been on the market for more than a year. He highlighted that, “There are a thousand reasons to close a restaurant right now. Ultimately though, the eventual impending sale of the building leaves me with an uncertain future.”
The owner added that he has some big plans for the business but can’t move forward with them for now.
In an optimistic tone, the owner shared, “Who knows, maybe in a few years we’ll see a new and reimagined Mee Heng Low for the next generation. I wish them and you good fortune.”
The shutdown of Mee Heng Low Noodle House will mark the end of a legacy in the California dining community.
