Rhode Island Institution Chan’s For Sale
GoLocalProv News Team
Rhode Island Institution Chan’s For Sale
Calling itself the “home of egg rolls, jazz and blues,” Chan’s has hosted major acts over the years on Main Street in Woonsocket.
In 2022, John Chan was inducted into the Rhode Island Historical Society.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST"Since taking over his family’s restaurant, Chan’s Fine Oriental Dining, in the 1980s, John Chan has been enriching Rhode Island’s cultural and culinary scene with his famous 'Eggrolls and Jazz.'
Chan was born in Hong Kong, spending his first ten years there with his parents, Ben and Ethel, and his siblings Bill and Linda. After initially moving to Astoria, New York, Chan and his family traveled to Woonsocket in 1965 after his father purchased the New Shanghai restaurant from a family friend. The space had been operated as a Chinese restaurant in the city since 1905 and is believed to be the oldest operating Chinese food restaurant in the state.
In 1970, Chan attended Providence College, where he was introduced to jazz for the first time by his college roommate, who was a DJ for the college radio station. What began as a love for jazz records morphed into a passion for live performances at Providence’s Joe’s Upstairs that shaped the trajectory of Chan’s legacy.
After graduating in 1974, Chan began working full-time at the restaurant, which now bore his family’s name. He began running the restaurant in 1977 and introduced the first live music performance, paving the way for later performances by greats such as Dizzy Gillespe, Miles Davis, Duke Robillard, Leon Redbone, James Montgomery, and countless others for 45 years.
In 1986, Chan expanded the business and the musical entertainment by purchasing the neighboring Fleet Bank building and transforming it into a soundproof performance space."
The listing of Chan's was first reported by the Valley Breeze.