Chinese Restaurants ( Cont . from Page 6 )
Margie Opaterny and her sister Judy Gee are nieces of the Lius . Their father Goon You Siu and On Liu were among 13 siblings , some of whom emigrated from China to California . Margie ’ s father immigrated to the US in 1924 , marrying Margie ’ s mother in China in 1948 , both settling in California by 1949 .
Margie was born in Los Angeles , living there until On and Rose , in the 1950s , invited her parents to move to Mountain View and join in the restaurant business . Her parents worked at the restaurant until their retirement . Margie and her sister Judy also worked there from the early 1960s , unloading the dishwasher , bussing dishes , and eventually waiting on tables . Their uncle On made fresh noodles and “ gigantic egg rolls ,” served in four pieces . By then , On and Rose lived on Bush St . near downtown Mountain View and owned rental property around the neighborhood . Some of the property housed restaurant employees .
From the 1984 Sunset article :
All telephone numbers are area code 415 . The most popular places are packed at lunchtime on weekdays and on weekend nights . All the restaurants have take-out service .
Qui Hing Low , 134 Castro ; 967-2476 .
Andy ’ s Chinese Restaurant , 174 Castro ; 968-9494 . Under new management , Andy ’ s now offers a dozen kinds of dim sum daily ($ 1 to $ 1.35 per plate ).
Shifting Demographics
Grand opening of Andy ’ s Chinese Restaurant , 174 Castro , September 1963 .
Andy ’ s Opens Margie ’ s cousin Muriel ( On ’ s niece ) and her husband Andrew Chan also came to Mountain View and participated in Qui Hing Low . Andrew worked as a waiter , Muriel in the kitchen . Together in 1963 , they opened Andy ’ s Chinese Restaurant nearby at 174 Castro , Andy working the front and Muriel as chef . Menu offerings resembled QHL ’ s . The Andy ’ s photo here shows the formal “ Grand Opening ” ceremony on September 14 .
Andy ’ s ( known also as “ Andy ’ s Chinese ”) would become “ the other ” classic Chinese restaurant in downtown Mountain View . In a 1984 online Sunset magazine article , “ Asian foods in downtown Mountain View - nearly two dozen places to eat and shop ,” ( https :// bit . ly / 3CPtXMf ) both Qui Hing Low and Andy ’ s appear . ( Note the arrival of telephone area codes ; in 1984 , Mountain View still shared the 415 code with San Francisco .)
As recently as the 1950s , what would later be named Silicon Valley was still mostly agricultural , with some housing , offices , and manufacturing plants , but many fruit orchards and related businesses — legacies of the pit-fruit industry launched in 1856 [ Source Note 2 ].
Qui Hing Low ’ s 1968 opening at its “ new ” second address , 134 Castro . On and Rose Liu are near the center . Margie ( then in high school ) is the woman farthest on the right , sporting a large flower . “ Ray ” of the sign was On Liu ’ s nephew , chef at that time .
Census data recorded a rapidly increasing Mountain View population from 1950 ( 6,563 ) to 1980 ( 67,460 ), reaching 82,376 in 2020 [ source note 3 ]. The ethnic- Asian component also increased steadily in that period ( as shown in the graph of the three largest census ethnic classifications ). This suggests that QHL ’ s earlier years served a dining public with far fewer China-connected members . Its advertising shows a correspondingly more Americanized menu , typical of contemporary Chinese restaurants . In its later days , QHL would have faced growing competition from newer , more-authentic Chinese restaurants .
Later Years Qui Hing Low was successful enough that the Lius bought a vacant lot at 134 Castro , building a restaurant to their specifications . QHL ’ s second location opened there in 1968 , with its own formal ceremony .
Continued on next page 7