A Chinese restaurant in Chicago that attracted attention for the use of a racial slur in its name has been closed for several days, reports DNA Info.
The restaurant generated controversy shortly after it opened when a Chicago resident outraged by the name Chop Chop Chinaman scrawled her anger by leaving a message with lipstick across the restaurant.
“F— this hate crime s—,” she wrote.
Jeannie Harrell, who is half Japanese, was later charged with misdemeanor criminal damage to property and is due back in court on June 9.
It’s not known why the restaurant closed after opening just four months ago, but it has been plagued with poor customer reviews. It earned just 1 1/2 stars on Yelp.
Larry Lee, the owner of the restaurant, has defended its name saying he wanted the restaurant to stick out above all his other Chinese competitors.
The word Chinaman is seen as derogatory among most Asian Americans who recall the word was heavily used around an era of anti-Chinese violence and the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.
You can read about other controversies around the word in DNA Info.
RE: “Chop Chop Chinaman” restaurant suddenly closes: Good. Maybe times are actually changing for the better.