Iconic Louie Kee Market sign heads to Fresno museum

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Monday's removal of the iconic Louie Kee Market neon sign in southwest Fresno marked the end of an era in the community. Crews worked carefully to take down a sign that had stood for decades.

"I tell everybody, 'We didn't think we were making history. We were just having fun living life,'" Kevin Louie with the market said. "That's one thing my parents and my dad said, 'It's not work if you're having fun.' You can tell everybody here is just having fun now."

It was a bittersweet moment for the family and friends who gathered to watch the sign's removal. Congressman Jim Costa was on hand to present the Louie family with a congressional resolution honoring their five generations of serving the community

"They have lived the American dream and that's why it's so important that we celebrate this 93 years of serving our community," Costa said.

Last month, the family closed Louie Kee Market after almost a century in business. The sign though will remain in the community and will become part of the Big Fresno Fair Historical Museum where it will join other iconic area signs.

"This is probably the most iconic small business sign in Fresno," Big Fresno Fair CEO John Alkire said. "So, anytime we can have a sign of that magnitude at the museum now it'll be beautiful. We're very excited."

For the family, they say donating the sign to the fair was a no-brainer.

"The numbers for the fair are growing," Louie said. "There's 500, 600, 700,000 people that see it. I don't think too many events like that where somebody could see it at a museum display like that. It'll be a good thing."

From here, the iconic sign will get restored before moving to its new home at the Big Fresno Fair in a couple of months.