JANESVILLE, Wis. — One son not only boasts an incredible bloodline, but a passion for restoring his century-old restaurant.
Amanda and Tom Fong own the second oldest Chinese restaurant in the country, and they can’t wait for their one-of-a-kind cultural restoration.
“25 recipients for this grant, so I was shocked,” Tom Fong said about American Express recently stepping up.
The credit card company gifted the Cozy Inn owners a $40,000 Backing Historic Small Restaurants grant.
“It’s so nostalgic for everyone in this community,” Fong said about the pride the community has in the 101-year-old Janesville gem.
It’s news he said he only wished he could share with his late father.
“My father always wanted us to kind of work hard to become business people or just business like-minded and just, you know, have that perseverance to keep going,” he said.
Tom’s father, Fang Lang, was not only a Titanic survivor, but the reason James Cameron created his unforgettable finale.
“The 1997 version of ‘Titanic,’ how Rose was saved, was basically inspired because of my father’s story,” he said.
Cameron produced “The Six” in 2021, a documentary focused on Fong’s own father and his death-defying ordeal.
“So sort of strange to me, but so surreal,” Fong said, because the phone has been ringing ever since the film debuted.
The family has been inundated with fans trying the Cozy Inn as it has received international media publicity.
But this Father’s Day, for the first time, Fong said they will close. The Cozy Inn couple is celebrating 36 years of marriage with a three-week tour of Italy. Meanwhile, restoration work on the original “chop suey” sign and so much more begins.
“It’s not just for my sake, but it brings back a lot of memories, and it starts a new journey for the newer generations as they’re growing up,” Fong said.
He added that he plans to honor his father with a model replica of the Titanic inside the restaurant when the remodel is complete later this summer.
Learn more about "The Six" documentary here and the Cozy Inn here.