Sad...
I remember going here all the time as a kid and my high school days.
This had to be one of the most coolest places to go eat - very spectacular, food was alright, but the atmosphere was GREAT and they served drinks even when I wasn't 21 haha :P
But yeah, sad to see that this great landmark in Jersey City is gone.
Jersey City landmark eatery is now history -- Canton opened in '28 was shut this fall after owner, manager died
Saturday, October 23, 2004
By Molly Bloom -- Journal staff writer
Though the menu outside the Canton Restaurant still offers pork "egg fo young" for $5.75, the doors of the landmark second-story restaurant on Bergen Avenue closed forever this fall after the deaths of an owner and a longtime manager.
Neither the current owner nor any surviving relatives of the late owner could be reached for comment. But the doors to the restaurant, which opened in 1928 as the Canton Tea Garden, have remained closed for several months.
The restaurant got a facelift 10 years ago and reopened under its current name, with an expanded menu offering Sichuan and Hunan items in addition to the Cantonese and Mandarin fare it had always offered.
At that time, owner Tommy Tang told a reporter the secret to the Canton's success: "We have a reputation. Everybody knows the Canton," he said. "If you are a resident of Jersey City, come here."
Up 28 white marble steps from the street, the dimly-lit second-floor restaurant featured red dark wood paneling, hanging red paper lanterns with gold tassels and attentive red-jacketed waiters.
As a 1991 reviewer put it, "The food is OK, but the atmosphere is spectacular."
The Journal Square landmark was known as the place for celebrities - Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze and Robin Williams brought crowds to Journal Square when "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar" was filmed at the Canton in 1994, and in 1998, Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Hurley dined there while filming "Mickey Blue Eyes."
But it was also known for celebrations.
Josephine Merdo of Jersey City said she'd been going to the Canton since her graduation from School 11 on Bergen Avenue. Merdo held her bridal shower at the restaurant in 1952 - and her 50th wedding anniversary party in 2002.
"Many years ago, that was the place to have your shower," she said. "There was hardly any other place . Now, I don't know where we'll go. We'll have to go to Secaucus, I guess."
Other Jersey City residents also remember the Canton primarily for its refusal decades ago to serve blacks, said James Parker, 89.
"If you ordered a meal, you couldn't sit down," he said. "You had to stand in the back to eat it . The NAACP sent squads down to sit at these tables and the most they would serve was a glass of water. They would never give them service," Parker said.
In recent years, patrons of Loew's Jersey Theater - another Journal Square landmark - often dined at the Canton for a truly historic experience.
"It's very unfortunate because whenever we do our shows, one of the favorite places our customers want to go is the Canton," said Colin Egan, director of the Loew's.
Robert Braha, an owner of several Journal Square clothing stores, has seen businesses come and go in the area over the years. "We lost a lot of office buildings around here," he said. "We have to recreate the night life."
*SIGH*
RIP CANTON...you guys were the best restaurant in the area for a long time.
This had to be one of the most coolest places to go eat - very spectacular, food was alright, but the atmosphere was GREAT and they served drinks even when I wasn't 21 haha :P
But yeah, sad to see that this great landmark in Jersey City is gone.
Jersey City landmark eatery is now history -- Canton opened in '28 was shut this fall after owner, manager died
Saturday, October 23, 2004
By Molly Bloom -- Journal staff writer
Though the menu outside the Canton Restaurant still offers pork "egg fo young" for $5.75, the doors of the landmark second-story restaurant on Bergen Avenue closed forever this fall after the deaths of an owner and a longtime manager.
Neither the current owner nor any surviving relatives of the late owner could be reached for comment. But the doors to the restaurant, which opened in 1928 as the Canton Tea Garden, have remained closed for several months.
The restaurant got a facelift 10 years ago and reopened under its current name, with an expanded menu offering Sichuan and Hunan items in addition to the Cantonese and Mandarin fare it had always offered.
At that time, owner Tommy Tang told a reporter the secret to the Canton's success: "We have a reputation. Everybody knows the Canton," he said. "If you are a resident of Jersey City, come here."
Up 28 white marble steps from the street, the dimly-lit second-floor restaurant featured red dark wood paneling, hanging red paper lanterns with gold tassels and attentive red-jacketed waiters.
As a 1991 reviewer put it, "The food is OK, but the atmosphere is spectacular."
The Journal Square landmark was known as the place for celebrities - Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze and Robin Williams brought crowds to Journal Square when "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar" was filmed at the Canton in 1994, and in 1998, Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Hurley dined there while filming "Mickey Blue Eyes."
But it was also known for celebrations.
Josephine Merdo of Jersey City said she'd been going to the Canton since her graduation from School 11 on Bergen Avenue. Merdo held her bridal shower at the restaurant in 1952 - and her 50th wedding anniversary party in 2002.
"Many years ago, that was the place to have your shower," she said. "There was hardly any other place . Now, I don't know where we'll go. We'll have to go to Secaucus, I guess."
Other Jersey City residents also remember the Canton primarily for its refusal decades ago to serve blacks, said James Parker, 89.
"If you ordered a meal, you couldn't sit down," he said. "You had to stand in the back to eat it . The NAACP sent squads down to sit at these tables and the most they would serve was a glass of water. They would never give them service," Parker said.
In recent years, patrons of Loew's Jersey Theater - another Journal Square landmark - often dined at the Canton for a truly historic experience.
"It's very unfortunate because whenever we do our shows, one of the favorite places our customers want to go is the Canton," said Colin Egan, director of the Loew's.
Robert Braha, an owner of several Journal Square clothing stores, has seen businesses come and go in the area over the years. "We lost a lot of office buildings around here," he said. "We have to recreate the night life."
*SIGH*
RIP CANTON...you guys were the best restaurant in the area for a long time.