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When Salli Pateman decided to open a restaurant in Chinatown she wanted to do something that reflected the neighbourhood’s history.

The Vancouver Archives had a 1936 photo of her building at 158 East Pender, showing staff from the Sai Woo Chop Suey restaurant watching a parade. So she named her restaurant Sai Woo.

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She spent two years restoring the 6,000 sq. ft space, which was in rough shape.

“It cost twice as much as what we expected, and took twice as long,” said Pateman, who used to own DeNiro’s Bistro and Section 3 restaurant in Yaletown.

But it was worth it, because she wound up with a stunning space with high ceilings, brick walls and a century-old fir floor. She accentuated the vibe by placing Chinatown artifacts inside, along with a “ghost painting” of one of the founders of the Chin Wing Chun Society, which owns her building.

Photo by NICK PROCAYLO / PNG

Then a friend in Calgary sent her a

of an old Chinatown parade – and it opens with a shot of a neon sign of a rooster advertising Sai Woo Chop Suey.