Elaine Louie worked at her parents’ Chinese restaurant as a teenager, then went on to become the go-to girl for Canada’s coolest celebrity gossip.gloves and mail
Long before Elaine Louie, aka Rainie Louie, or Laney Gossip for anyone who’s ever used the internet, became Canada’s go-to for coolest celebrity gossip, she was hosting decidedly uncool (and unpaid) gigs at her parents’ Chinese restaurant. At the time, she couldn’t wait to get out of there, but today, the former social host and eTalk correspondent is much wiser.
My parents co-owned a Chinese buffet restaurant in Cambridge, Ontario. Although now closed, China Sails Buffet was once a staple in the area. Families come for the delicious buffet. Kung pao chicken was amazing.
It was very uncool to work there back then. I was born and raised in Toronto, not the suburbs, so I really wanted to be in Toronto or wherever my friends were playing. But if you’re the only child of an immigrant small business owner, you can be sure you’ll do all you can there. At the family restaurant, everything is made by hand. As the daughter of loyal immigrants, working there was not even up for debate.
I started high school at age 16, and until I went to university in my early 20s, I had to take the bus to Cambridge almost every weekend to help my parents. They had me do everything from hostessing to taking orders, working the cash register and accounting, to packing takeout and moving tables. If the dishwasher didn’t show up, I was the one. They paid me a share of the tips and gave me a living allowance. But I never received a formal salary.
There are hardly any waitresses at the buffet. If anyone needed a drink, it was me. Missing a plate? me too. The buffet restaurant serves lunch and evening rush. However, the Sunday brunch rush was our top priority. Imagine after church, birthday parties, and Mother’s Day in the suburbs of the 90s. I have never seen crowds like the Chinese buffet on Mother’s Day.
I arrived at 9am and was setting the table, polishing cutlery, and folding napkins. If my mom worked, I probably would have been backpacking takeout. If it wasn’t for her, I would have also become a hostess. By 11 o’clock people begin to gather, and by noon there is no time to think. There was table after table, and the phone kept ringing until about 2 o’clock. It takes a few hours to recover, and then it happens all over again.
At night, it was all about takeout. I’m a seasoned expert at packing takeout boxes, and I swear it’s an art. Of course you need to be accurate, but you also need to organize the boxes so they don’t hit each other. And we have to do it quickly. If I were to be on a reality show and taken to a restaurant to take orders, I would absolutely kill it.
The entire time I was packing, I had to answer phones and take orders. This was the 90s, I was a teenager, and hour-long three-way calls were common. My parents used to tease me and say, “Your special skill is talking on the phone. That’s perfect for you.” I certainly didn’t laugh.
Walk-in traffic starts to die down around 7:30 and we close around 9 or 9:30. This is an illegal 12-hour work day, but let me tell you my parents didn’t care. If it was a Saturday, I was always trying to rush out of there so I could go back to town and go out.
But looking back, I just loved the experience. The same people always came. The regulars were always kind. Of course, there were some difficult customers, but they were rare. For about 15 years, we were the only Chinese restaurant in town. I remember chatter about competition and new restaurant openings, but I was only paying as much attention as a 16-year-old could. Now that I know more about the restaurant business, I realize that a restaurant that’s been open for so long, is so busy, and continues to make a profit is something really special.
Obviously people really loved China Sails. Because even now, when I mention China Sails on social media, I immediately get a DM saying, “We used to go there all the time!” When I was 16, I always wanted to do a cooler job in town with people my age. It was like the cashier next to the cute stock boy at Lob Roas. Armed with some perspective and maturity, I appreciate the unique experience of an immigrant child working alongside my family in a small business in a small town. These restaurants add so much to small town communities and I was so lucky to experience it first hand.
Just as Rosemary Counter told me.
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