Teri Castillo, San Antonio District 5 City Council member, on Nov. 4 honored local restaurant Golden Star Cafe for its 90th anniversary with a proclamation read aloud at the council meeting.

According to a news release, Golden Star Cafe was founded in 1932 by Koon Yen Lim—known by friends, family and patrons as Papa Lim—who immigrated to the United States at age 13 from Canton, China.

The council meeting honor was a culmination of activities celebrating Golden Star’s anniversary, where the Lim family hosted a special event for family members, long-standing employees and customers, and community leaders, including Castillo, Mayor Ron Nirenberg, State Sen. José Menéndez, former U.S. Rep. Charlie Gonzalez and former

Clinton Administration cabinet member Henry Cisneros, who as San Antonio mayor attended the original ribbon cutting of the restaurant’s current location in the 1980s.

The Golden Star Cafe is family owned and operated and, to many, known as the “gateway to the west side” from downtown as it is located on West Commerce and Frio streets, restaurant representatives said.

“Our family wanted to honor Papa Lim’s legacy and celebrate our 90th anniversary serving our beloved San Antonio community, a milestone we know that not many small businesses achieve, especially with today’s business challenges,” co-owner Bo Jean Lim said.

The release said generations of residents have dined at Golden Star Cafe, sharing memories of Papa Lim’s scratch pies and kitchen staff either stacking entire orders on their arms or cooking American, Chinese and Mexican food 24/7.

The Golden Star Cafe is famous to many San Antonians for its signature hand-breaded fried fish with gravy, representatives said.

Representatives for the Golden Star said the restaurant was greatly affected by COVID-19 and is still experiencing small business challenges—such as supply chain and labor shortages, and inflation—as well as road construction, the latter of which has caused a closure of the eatery’s main entrance.

The release said the Lim family is unsure how long the restaurant will survive, but remains hopeful that with the help from the city and neighbors, Golden Star will continue to serve the community.