An archival photo from 1936 of the original Sai Woo restaurant on Pender Street in Vancouver's Chinatown was all it took to convince Salli Pateman to purchase and reopen the historic space.

"That building has always had a restaurant for almost 100 years," said Pateman "That cemented it for me that it needed to be Sai Woo again."

In a quest for authenticity, Pateman has even commissioned a custom replica of the restaurant's historic neon sign.