Danny Tow has a list for everything.
Each time he’s asked a question about Miss China Restaurant ” which he and his wife Kitty have owned for the last 31 years ” he pulls another neatly typed paper from a manila folder to answer it.
The couple has even drawn up a detailed retirement plan, including writing a book and traveling, that will be put to good use after they close the La Jolla Shores business next month, with the hopes of selling it to new owners who will continue with the building’s restaurant tradition.
Organizational skills have paid off for the Tows, helping them balance multiple careers and raise three children. Sitting at an outside table at Miss China on a recent morning ” right before lunch was served ” the Tows took a few minutes to reflect on their time spent in La Jolla.
“We’ve been in this community for many years,” Danny said, as he sifted through photographs of he and Kitty posing with famous people who have frequented the restaurant, such as San Diego Chargers head coach Marty Schottenheimer.
A framed Mickey Mantle autograph hangs with other photos and newspaper clippings on a wall near the restaurant entrance. Danny, who admits he’s an avid sports fan, has also compiled a list of famous athletes who have passed through Miss China’s doors.
“We’ve served three and four generations of family over the years,” he added.
Now with three grown children and a 3″”year-old grandchild of their own, the Tows are ready to spend more time focusing on family and other projects that have been pushed to the back burner.
Danny, who journeyed with family from Hong Kong to northern California in 1955, retired in 1993 from his engineering career, which included working for several high-profile companies.
After meeting in junior high, Kitty and Danny remained pen pals after he moved to the United States. Eleven years later, she followed him and they soon were married.
Upon relocating to California, Kitty acquired her teaching credential and has taught Oriental cooking and Chinese brush painting since 1970 for San Diego Community College. She plans to continue with her art classes at the La Jolla and Mission Bay recreation centers after retiring, she said.
It was her students who encouraged Kitty to open a restaurant. Now, after more than three decades in the business, Kitty is reluctant to let it go.
“I don’t want to retire,” she said, as the sun shone down on a paper she printed with meticulous Chinese lettering. Behind her, like a mirror image, a large portrait of a woman holding a wooden spoon and beckoning patrons to come inside hangs on a porch trellis.
But, gauging from the community’s response to its plans to close, it is much more than the restaurant’s inviting sign that has kept customers coming back for more.
John and Susie Berteaux began frequenting Miss China right after it opened in 1975.
The Berteauxs developed a regular routine of spending Friday nights at the restaurant and would often be the last ones to leave the small, one-room dining room, according to John, a University of California, San Diego and San Diego State University alum and former UCSD and SDSU lecturer.
Sometimes the Tows would join them at their table, and the couples would chat for hours about the community and their children, who were the same age and attended La Jolla Country Day School.
The Berteauxs’ fondest memory of Miss China ” and one that sealed the couples’ friendship ” was of a mishap one afternoon when John invited his wife and their banker to lunch at the restaurant.
Midway through the meal, John realized he was late for an appointment across town, excused himself and took off in a hurry. His wife and the female banker were not carrying enough money to cover the lunch, but Kitty waved them off, telling them not to worry and to send John later to pay the bill.
“That’s how we first got to know them very well,” he said. “That’s when we really met them, and it just kind of became our joke ” ‘Eat and run.'”
The Tows’ kindness stuck with the Berteauxs over time, and even though the couple moved to Pacific Grove three years ago, they still return on a regular basis to visit Kitty and Danny. When they showed up at Miss China two weeks ago, they were greeted with the usual hugs and kind words “” but were not prepared to hear of the Tows’ retirement.
“It’s great food and wonderful people and we always felt as though we were sitting in our living room, eating dinner with friends,” John said. “I am really kind of sad to see them go.”
Miss China Restaurant, 2240 Avenida de la Playa, is open daily for lunch and dinner and can be reached by calling (858) 454-2311. The last day of operation for the Tows is Jan. 31.