Nankin Cafe

Every city has it’s landmarks. The best steak in town, the iconic park, the main drag through downtown where the city comes to life. In Minneapolis, one of these places was the Nankin Cafe. It stood over 7th Street South in downtown Minneapolis for 80 years, a mainstay and local institution for several generations of Twin Cities residents.   

The Nankin was originally started and operated by Walter James, a Chinese-American man from Olympia, Washington. He was born there in 1892 to immigrant, working class parents. At the age of 9, he went to China and stayed with a family friend in the village his father was from. He spent his teens in the Seattle-Tacoma and Yakima, Washington areas. He was driven and independent from a young age, working as an interpreter for the US Immigration service and managing a Chinese restaurant (a foreshadow of his path in Minneapolis). 

He met many immigrants coming in on steamboats from China working for the immigration service. He began trading for goods from the sailors he got to know and selling them for a profit. His venture proved lucrative, and eventually he was offered a job with a restaurant in Chicago.   James didn’t like Chicago, and moved to Minneapolis very soon after. There he opened Canton, his first restaurant. In 1919, he opened Nankin Cafe at 15 7th Street South in the heart of downtown’s hustle and bustle. 

The Nankin was always busy. People regularly waited for a seat in the cafe’s cavernous dining room. It quickly became a hit with locals, eventually becoming nationally known thanks in big part to James’ famous Nankin Chop Suey. The Nankin was, for many Minnesotans, their first taste of asian cuisine.   James was keen on making sure his restaurant catered to the desires of what patrons of the era wanted – good food, entertainment, and fun. He brought in a western orchestra to sit in residence as the house band. Dick Long’s Nankin Orchestra played at the establishment from the early 1920s through the 1940s.   Due to the restaurant’s great success, a location was eventually opened in downtown Saint Paul, as well as a location in Downtown Chicago by 1933. This location moved to Skokie, IL in 1948.   

In 1949, Walter James sold the Nankin to the Chalfen and Golden families - two very involved local families, one of which had a holding interest in the Minneapolis Lakers. From this time to his death in 1973, he focused his time and energy on the community, founding the Chinese American Club in 1949 to promote greater mutual respect and understanding in the Twin Cities. He was also heavily involved in the local Rotary Club, YMCA, and Salvation Army as a member and donor. His life was committed to supporting the community that helped his business thrive.   

By 1958, the Nankin was moving to its second location when its original home of 39 years met the wrecking ball. A way had to be made for a new parking ramp for the Radisson Hotel and Dayton’s Department Store. They stayed close - moving directly across the street to 20 S. 7th Street. Prior to the Nankin, this building was home to Miller’s Cafeteria.   By the 1980s, consumer desires for their food had begun changing. Away with the hot, fast, and copious portions in favor of higher quality and richer flavors. In addition, downtown itself had begun a renaissance. The Nankin, yet again, became a victim of change and progress, with the demolition of its second building in 1980. Construction of the CIty Center and new Donaldson’s Department Store location wiped it away. 

In 1981, the restaurant moved into its third and final location, in the City Center, at 7th & Hennepin.   In 1989, the restaurant was taken over by the Wu family, who operated it until the very end in 1999. By this year, a tough run of luck caught up with the cafe. The manu falling out of favor with contemporary preferences, a  five month strike in the late ‘80s, and a drug raid in April 1997 all led to City Center and the Wu family mutually agreeing to not renew their lease.   So, after 80 years on the same block, keeping watch over downtown Minneapolis, the neons of the Nankin went dark for the very last time.