Photo: James Rojas
SALEM, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) —The popular Chinese restaurant Salem Lowe is shutting down for the second time.
The restaurant, known for their chop suey sandwich, is closing after two years. Co-owners and chefs Ryan Harriman and Kathleen Rodgers took over in 2022, when the previous owners retired after decades in business.
Rodgers grew up going to the restaurant and wanted to save it after it closed two years ago. Harriman called it their “passion project.” Harriman, however, said that's not in the cards now.
Read More: Salem Rejoice: Salem Lowe Is Back, Chop Suey Sandwiches And All
“It’s just run its course there. We feel like the whole Willows is growing and developing, and maybe that restaurant and that concept just doesn’t really have a place there anymore,” Harriman said.
The pair owns Spitfire Tacos in Salem and Marblehead and said it’s time to focus on those.
Regulars at Salem Lowe are understandably bummed about the closure.
“That actually makes me really sad. I thought something really unique about Salem Lowe was the variety of food that they had to offer,” said Crystal Curran of Danvers.
The famous chop suey sandwich. Photo: Brooke McCarthy
The restaurant is in Willows Park, right on the city’s coast. Rodgers said it’s actually not the only place that carries a chop suey sandwich, and the restaurant is much more than that.
“It was … going down to the Willows, sitting on a bench with your grandmother or your family and eating the sandwich there. It’s a staple,” Rodgers said.
That seemed to be the appeal for many.
“I thought that it was so cool that you could get Chinese food on the beach,” Curran said. “Where else could you do that?”
WBZ NewsRadio’s James Rojas (@JamesRojasMMJ) reports.
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