Prince Rupert’s West End Cafe highlighted in documentary

A new spotlight is being shone on Prince Rupert’s landmark 104-year-old West End Cafe in a television documentary being filmed in the city exploring the impact of the 1923 Chinese Immigration Act.

Richard Wong, grandson of restaurant founder Wong Kam Sun, hosted a film crew as well as honoured community guests to share the story of his family’s restaurant, on Feb. 22.

“It may not look like much, but it’s a piece of history and it’s unique in that sense. That’s really why we wanted to come here, because the thing about the history of Chinese Canadians, in Canada, is that there isn’t that much sort of living history … this is one piece of history that connects the experience of Chinese Canadians today with the experience of their forefathers who came out here over 100 years ago,” Jerome Evans, documentary director and producer said.

Wong recounted the tale of his grandfather’s arrival in Canada and the founding of the original West End Chop Suey House more than a century ago to a room of friends of the restaurant. He spoke of how Prince Rupert residents had always come together to support their business and family through the toughest of times.

“The community is very supportive of people. It’s a very generous community. The West End is a prime example of a local business being supported for 104 years by the community,” Barry Cunningham, city councillor and guest, said.

The documentarians’ aim is to portray an exploration of how the Chinese Exclusion Act, as it is better known, affected the family and wider community in Prince Rupert. It is also to portray Chinese Canadians across the nation in acknowledgment of the 100th anniversary of the discriminatory legislation next year, Evans said.

“They want to understand what we, about four generations, experienced during this 100 years. How this affected our grandfather, our father and us,” Wong said.

The Exclusion Act banned nearly all Chinese immigrants for 24 years on the basis of ethnicity. Every person of Chinese descent, Canadian-born or naturalized citizen, was required to register for an identity card. The penalty for noncompliance resulted in imprisonments or fines up to $500, not accounting for inflation which in today’s costs would be just under $8,000. The Act was repealed in 1947. Canada did not lift immigration restrictions based on national origin until 1967.

Though the ownership of the establishment is no longer with the original family, the restaurant’s history is woven into the fabric of what makes Prince Rupert today, Wong said.

In the Second World War, 50,000 soldiers were stationed in Prince Rupert and during that time Wong’s grandfather supported the back end of the war effort. His restaurant helped feed and provide a place of respite for the thousands of military staff.

Not only did Wong’s grandfather support the city’s war effort and economic development, but also encouraged world peace, he said.

The documentary film will be screened this summer on OMNI Television across the country.

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