Fifteen years ago, Jerry Tam inherited the oldest continuously operating Chinese restaurant in the United States. Tam, who, along with his four sisters, grew up working in the family-owned Pekin Noodle Parlor in Butte, Mont., always envisioned eventually returning to the business. But his parents' unexpected passings accelerated the timeline, and he became owner in 2009.
“I always knew I would come back, but I always thought it would be at a later date,” says Tam. “I had dreams of working with my sisters after they raised their kids and were ready to step back into it during their retirement years.”
In the late 19th century, Butte gold mining and railroad construction drew Chinese immigrants to the area in greater numbers than than San Francisco or New York City. In the late 1890s, Chinese business owners in Butte beat a union-organized boycott against their businesses, making the town a more welcoming place for Chinese immigrants despite the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, which banned immigration and made naturalization unavailable until its repeal in 1943.
Tam's great-great-grandfather, Tam Kwong Yee, first opened the restaurant in 1911 with business partner Hum Yow. In addition to food, the Pekin soon offered multiple other services like laundry, herbal medicine and tobacco. Kwong Yee and Yow were instrumental in feeding and providing supplies and entertainment — including, for a time, an illegal gambling parlor in the Pekin's basement — to Chinese immigrants working in the nearby mines at Pekin.
Tam's father, Danny Wong, whose Chinese name was Ding Kuen Tam, bought the restaurant from his great-uncle in the 1950s after arriving from China himself. Tam still owns the suitcase his dad carried with him on his move to the U.S.
While Tam is currently the sole family member who owns and works in the business, his sisters' support has been critical to continuing the Pekin's legacy. During the ownership transition in 2008 and 2009, his sister, Nancy, oversaw the accounting, taxes and other bookwork, allowing Jerry time to step into the ownership role before handing those tasks back to him. In addition, there is a succession plan in place: Should anything happen to Jerry, his second oldest sister, Lillian, is in line to step up and continue the family tradition.
Staying Power
Tam remembers his father as a true people person.
Wong sponsored 250 family members seeking immigration and loved to entertain the patrons of his business. He became good friends with celebrities (Evel Knievel, for example, was a regular at the restaurant), as well as with tourists, local patrons and politicians, including Max Baucus, the longest-serving senator in Montana history who later served as the 11th U.S. Ambassador to the People's Republic of China.
Another likely reason for the Pekin's staying power is its award-winning food: The restaurant was honored with the 2023 James Beard Foundation America's Classics Award. But the real secret sauce is in the way the Pekin treats its customers. In 2021, the Pekin was nominated for the James Beard Foundation Hospitality Award, which is the recognition Tam says he's most proud of because it honors an aspect of the business that his father emphasized.
The Nostalgic and the New
The Pekin is one of only a handful of restaurants with covered booths. The interior décor hasn't changed since the 1950s, including the curtains his mother sewed that still hang in the windows and the “Carnival Orange” walls. In May 2023, Tam was presented with a $40,000 grant, courtesy of American Express, on Good Morning America, as part of the show's third annual Backing Historic Small Restaurants program in partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The funds were partially used to repaint the restaurant in the same colors to honor and maintain its legacy.
“Most people can't remember the last three restaurants they went to,” Tam says. “Maybe it's just because they're nondescript. Maybe it's corporate. But when people come to the Pekin, they remember every single visit.”
Tam says visitors often approach him and share that they ate at the Pekin seven, 20, or even 50 years ago. Some first come alone and then return years — or decades — later with their kids and grandchildren.
“Give people something special, something unique,” he says. “For Pekin, it's a dining experience, where people feel experience joy whether people show up by themselves or with family and friends.”
But Tam also knows the Pekin can't rely on nostalgia alone to remain relevant.
“The world has changed exponentially,” Tam says. “It's a different climate than it was in the past. You have to be up to date on social media and be the best at what you're doing.”