The Hong Kong Café was a Los Angeles restaurant and music venue that was a part of the Los Angeles punk rock scene during the late 1970s and early 1980s when the club was owned and operated by Barry Seidel, Kim Turner and Suzie Frank,followed by a resurgence from 1992 to 1995. Located at 425 Gin Ling Way in the

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...

district of

Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is ...

, California and across the way from sometimes rival Esther Wong's Madame Wong's, the former Chinese restaurant was open to audiences of all ages. It can briefly be seen in the 1974 movie, ''

''.

History

First Run of Shows: 1979-1981

The Plugz The Plugz (also known as "Los Plugz") were a Latino punk band from Los Angeles that formed in 1977 and disbanded in 1984. They and The Zeros were among the first Latino punk bands, although several garage rock bands, such as Thee Midniters an ...

and UXA played at the club's opening night on June 7, 1979, and numerous bands, including X,

Catholic Discipline Catholic Discipline was an American punk rock (first-generation new wave) band, formed in 1979 in San Francisco, California, by '' Slash Fanzine'' editor Claude Bessy. The initial line-up of the band featured Bessy on vocals, Phranc on guitar, R ...

The Mau-Mau's is a band started by Rick Wilder (formerly the singer of the Berlin Brats). Following the breakup of the glam rock / proto - punk band the Berlin Brats in 1976, two years of inactivity followed before Rick Wilder updated his image and sound to mo ...

, Bags, The Smart Pills,

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, and The Alley Cats, performed there until its closing in January 1981. Concert footage filmed at Hong Kong Café appears in the

Penelope Spheeris Penelope Spheeris (born December 2, 1945 or 1946; sources differ) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. She has directed both documentary and scripted films. Her best-known works include the trilogy titled ''The Decline of ...

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The Decline of Western Civilization ''The Decline of Western Civilization'' is a 1981 American documentary filmed through 1979 and 1980. The movie is about the Los Angeles punk rock scene and was directed by Penelope Spheeris. In 1981, the LAPD Chief of Police Daryl Gates wrote a ...

''. The Hong Kong Cafe was typically more open to punk and hardcore acts than Madame Wong's. Black Flag played some of its first few shows at the Hong Kong Cafe.

Resurgence: 1992-1995

The venue reopened for music in 1992, featuring shows from acts such as D.I.,

Guttermouth Guttermouth is an American punk rock band formed in 1988 in Huntington Beach, California and currently recording for Rude Records. They have released nine full-length studio albums and two live albums and have toured extensively, including perfor ...

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, and the

Voodoo Glow Skulls Voodoo Glow Skulls are an American ska punk band formed in 1988 in Riverside, California, by brothers Frank, Eddie, and Jorge Casillas and their longtime friend Jerry O'Neill. Voodoo Glow Skulls first played at backyard parties and later at Spa ...

Aftermath

The space is currently occupied by Realm, a housewares and gifts retailer.Realm
Retrieved January 15, 2011.

Shows at the Hong Kong Café

Shows from the Hong Kong's first months:

References

External links

Realm
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hong Kong Cafe Music venues in Los Angeles Punk rock venues Nightclubs in Los Angeles County, California Chinatown, Los Angeles Historic Rock and Roll Landmarks Music venues completed in 1979 1979 establishments in California 1981 disestablishments in California