Shanghai Grocery and Meat Market

The Shanghai Grocery and Meat Market opened in April 1937 at 646 W Missouri Ave in what was once Sunset Heights and is now part of the I-10 freeway. It closed in 1964 after the state of Texas used eminent domain to cut a huge swath through the core of the city. The demolition of buildings and homes drove many residents out of El Paso.

From the El Paso Times:
The Shanghai Grocery was located at 646 W. Missouri Ave. and held its grand opening April 17-18, 1937. Steak was 25 cents per pound, roast was 15 cents per pound and sliced bacon 32 cents per pound. […] A Feb. 2, 1942, business directory listing shows Joe Yat Noon and Yee Yuk Toa as proprietors. […] The Shanghai Grocery operated until 1964 and then Yee, his wife Fung Wa “Sylvia” and their children moved to Alamogordo in 1966.

From Kuey “Buck” Yee’s Obituary:
Kuey “Buck” Yee, 77, of Alamogordo, died Saturday, March 6, 1993, at an Alamogordo hospital. Mr. Yee was born in Hoy Sun, China, on April 2, 1915. He came to the United States in 1931 and worked as an apprentice gourmet chef of the New China Restaurant in Cleveland, Ohio, during the Big Band era. After becoming a naturalized citizen of the United States, he served in the U.S. Army from December 1942 until November 1945 during which time he was in the campaigns in Sicily, Italy and Africa.
While stationed at Fort Bliss he was honorably discharged after receiving the Asiatic Pacific Service Medal and the Good Conduct Medal. He settled in El Paso where he owned and operated the Shanghai Grocery Store in the historic Sunset Heights District until 1964. He was one of the charter members of the Tri-State Wholesale Associated Grocers, Inc. He moved to Alamogordo in 1966 and established the Chinese star Café.

Creator: Kuey “Buck” and Fung Wa “Sylvia” Yee Family

Area: Central / Sunset Heights

Source: Kuey “Buck” and Fung Wa “Sylvia” Yee Family

Uploaded by: El Paso Museum of History