The introduction of an innovative version of the Lazy Susan to Chinese restaurants has been attributed to Kan 's : " The trail of the Chinese Lazy Susan finally picks up in the 1950 's , which is when Chinese food got its makeover . The hub of Chinese American cuisine was San Francisco 's Chinatown , where a new generation of entrepreneurial restaurant owners was trying to better adapt Chinese cooking to American tastes . One of them was Johnny Kan , who opened a Cantonese-style restaurant in 1953 . He worked with three Chinese-American friends ( George Hall , John C. Young ( brothers-in-law who started Wing Nien Foods , a soy sauce company ) and George Chow who had helped acquire the very important liquor license - to try to make his restaurant both respectable and modern ... In the mid-1950 's , Hall ... put together a revolving tabletop that became the pivotal element of Kan 's new banquet room . " Celebrities who dined at Kan 's regularly included Frank Sinatra , Dean Martin , Sammy Davis Jr. , Marilyn Monroe , and Herb Caen , who helped to publicize the restaurant in his column . Jeanne Phillips , better known for helping her mother with and then taking over the advice column Dear Abby , confesses she " had a huge crush on the maitre d' , and the food was good , too . " While covering the 1964 Republican National Convention , Walter Cronkite dined at Kan 's ; after Kan asked if he would like to meet the chef , Cronkite was ushered into the kitchen and introduced to Danny Kaye , who had been studying at Chinese cooking at Kan 's for years
1964 Republican National Convention
1964 Republican National Convention
Johnny Kan