The historic Sai Woo restaurant was a chop-suey house that operated in
Chinatown from 1925-1959. The original beloved iconic neon sign was lost
years ago and could not be tracked down despite a reward. In 2017, Salli
Pateman the owner of the new restaurant, decided to bring the classic neon
sign back to life. Resurrecting the sign was important to her, she saw it as a
way to pay homage to the building and neighbourhood. It would be a memento
of the past, mixed with the new.

The only image of the original sign was a brief clip on a You Tube video that her
friend sent her of a Chinatown parade in 1958. From this brief footage, she
turned to Kickstarter to raise the $18,000 it would cost to create a replica of the
sign, offering $1 restaurant credit for every $1 donated.

Troy Hibbs of TDH Experiential Fabricators were given the challenge of recreating
the 6x8 foot sign. They hand-painted the letters, used air-brushing techniques
and put the sign through an aging process in order to mimic the vintage quality
of the sign.

Part of the gallery: A Walk In Old Chinatown

Best viewed in original size