Hong Kong Restaurant & Motel

A hole in the wall eatery serving “Chinese & Western Cuisine” (as the old signs often advertised) is a small town staple. Usually housed in some heritage building they offer unpretentious fare, nothing remotely gourmet, but yummy all the same. Think kitschy decor, budget prices and generous portions. Think bottomless cups of coffee and an all-you-can-eat feed bag come Friday night. It’s old school defined and places like this a real slice of Canadiana. Presenting the Hong Kong Restaurant in Linden Alberta, sadly closed a couple years now.

This business also had an attached motel and while no Hilton, it’s not without its charms.

Research shows a restaurant of some sort has operated out of this building since about 1970. We did find data suggesting it housed another even before that (Maple Leaf Coffee Shop maybe) but it can’t be fully corroborated. Our information comes from old phone books, one of the more solid sources when it comes to business names and dates.

This we know for sure…

From about to 1970-1973 it was the Country Inn. Then it became Village Inn and with the addition of the motel “wing” a year or so later (three rooms worth!) Village Inn & Motel. The latter was made from an Atco type trailer commonly seen in construction or oil rig camps and while the digs were simple, they were probably adequate for the time. A similar utility trailer across the alley and seen in the photos, we believe is connected to the local fire hall and not part of the motel.

The Hong Kong Restaurant & Motel first makes mention in 1981 and kept that name until closing about 2019-ish after close to forty years in business. There’s other eateries in Linden, but none in the traditional sense like here, but they were the only accommodations.

Sadly businesses like this are dying off and while the reasons are many, there’s often a pattern of usual suspects. It might be because the owners are getting on in years, or the building similarly so. Maybe it’s that tastes are changing or due to a shift in population or demographic. No matter, it’s a tough biz to be in and that the Hong Kong folks kept the lights on as long as they did is commendable. We know not the exact reasons for their demise, but suspect at least one of the factors mentioned could be in play. Ongoing Covid lock downs might kill and may yet kill many restaurants, but here they were gone before that storm hit.

The colour of the building! Need directions to the Hong Kong? Look for the blue! We didn’t find any real estate listing for the business so it appears they’re not looking for new owners. Not that it’d be an easy sell anyway. Update May 13th, 2021: Since the publishing of this piece, we’ve gotten word recently that someone has been working to reopen the restaurant end of the business in some form (not sure about the motel). We wish them success and if in the area will drop by.

It’s not clear when the Hong Kong Restaurant building was constructed but that it’s made of concrete (cinder) blocks offers some hints. These were quite popular in the post-World War Two era building boom, so from around that time is as good a guess as any. The old TV antenna is a nice retro element – three whole channels! Cool Coke sign too!

Look way up and see Linden’s water tower. The tallest thing around, it’s a curious structure looking almost like an overgrown Sputnik satellite. We asked around and it looks like it was put in around the time the community upgraded from hamlet to village status in the 1960s. Further, it’s suggested it was bought used but nothing more is said from where it came. It does look quite old so that it came second hand seems to fit. We’ll continue to search out a story and will update this post should new information come to light (as it often does). Any locals that we haven’t already spoke with care to chime in? On either subject? We love it when readers “add to the story”.

Linden can be traced back to the early 1900s, although it seems things did not take off until after the railway arrived around 1930. That track, incidentally, did not pass through town proper but was a couple kilometres west (and pulled up in the 1990s). Linden has a population approaching nine hundred and is one of the few small prairie towns that’s growing, albeit not at a furious place.

Till next we meet.

They’re saying…

”Their photography is wonderful and I love to read the background stories to the images” Peg Strankman.

Small town awesomeness…
A Stop In Heinsburg.
In & Around Hanna.
Exploring Viking.
Ymir, Friday Nights.

If you wish more information on what you’ve seen here don’t hesitate to contact us!

Date of Adventure: May, 2020.
Location(s): Linden, AB.
Article references and thanks: old AGT phone books @ Medicine Hat & District Genealogical Society and Calgary Public Library and the Village of Linden.

It’s the Hong Kong Restaurant & Motel.

We’ve arrived in Linden Alberta.

Sadly, the business closed recently.

In the shadow of Linden’s water tower.

With this you got three channels.