Ruby Chow and her husband Ping opened Ruby Chow's restaurant in an old mansion at Broadway and Jefferson Street in 1948, the first Chinese restaurant in Seattle located outside of Chinatown. Ruby Chow would spend a lifetime as a community leader, including service as the first Asian American on the King County Council, first elected in 1973 and serving for three terms.

While Ping Chow was the restaurant's chef, Ruby was its loquacious hostess, introducing her largely white clientele to Chinese culture and community. This menu for Ruby Chow's restaurant notes that "Many of Ruby's customers prefer to have her order their dinners for them. Feel free to ask her."