JANESVILLE, Wis. — A Chinese restaurant is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, as one of the oldest continually operated Chinese restaurants in the country. 

Go up the stairs and into the Cozy Inn in downtown Janesville, and it’s as if you’re stepping back in time.

“I’ve been around it my whole life,” said Tom Fong, owner of the Cozy Inn. “In my earlier days, when my parents owned it, because of their language barrier, it was basically my brother and I ran the business, and my mom cooked.” 

The restaurant was originally started by the Wong family in 1922. Fong’s parents bought it in 1974. Fong said it’s the second-oldest Chinese restaurant still in its original location in America, only beat out by a restaurant in Butte, Montana. 

It’s likely on the second floor of the building because of the racism of the era. 

“I think a lot of Chinese restaurants were only allowed to open on a second floor basically,” Fong said. 

They’ve been given old menus that show the food available and prices. It includes a Porterhouse steak for two, priced at $1.90. 

“They had more American cuisine besides some of the Chinese… like steaks and lobster tails and so forth,” Fong said. 

While Fong spends a lot of time in the back of the house, his wife Amanda is the beating heart of the place. She seemed to know everyone who walked in. 

“She always knows pretty much everything that we’re going to order we’re here,” said Julie Raese. “It’s kind of like being family.” 

Raese has a special connection to the restaurant, like so many other customers. They even have “their” booth every time they come in. 

“My parents were dating in 1941. I believe they were married in 1942,” Raese said. “They came here when they were dating. That’s pretty cool.” 

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that everyone said the food is fantastic. It’s so good, in fact, that they have customers all over the country. 

One comes home every year around the holidays, and makes a special request. 

“He would order 75 egg rolls, and he would call ahead and want us to freeze it,” Fong said. “He would ship it all the way back to Las Vegas.” 

The Cozy Inn is thriving at a time when many restaurants are struggling. Data from DATCP shows in Wisconsin in 2020, double the amount of restaurants closed than opened. 

Fong credits that success to their customers. 

“At one point, someone asked how we were doing, and we were struggling a little bit but wasn’t too bad,” he said. “But she put it on Facebook. Overnight, it was over 1,500 shares on Facebook. Then we got extremely busy from the support.”

Generations of families love the Cozy Inn. 

“A lot of these people, they grew up in this restaurant. I had a coworker, when I was working here, her parents would bring her up here, and the two girls would run into the kitchen all the time as a child,” Fong said. “She still comes up here, and now she’s a grandparent. Now her grandkids eat here too.”