Larry Chu Jr. To Get Singer Award at State of the Cities Chamber Event Friday

When Larry Chu Jr. got the call from the Los Altos Chamber of Commerce that he was selected to receive the Walter & Marie Singer award, the first thing he did was call his father.

"You won't believe it," he said. "I'm getting a Walter Singer Award."

The elder Chu, founder of the Chef Chu's, was traveling in Taiwan with chef-owners Martin Yan and Khai Duong, leading a foodie group that was dining its way through Asia.

"I was in shock," said Lawrence Chu Sr., who won the same award in 1996. "What he did in 10 years, I did in 20 years."

The younger Chu will receive his award at Friday's State of the Cities chamber luncheon, during which mayors of Los Altos and Los Altos Hills will speak about the goals each have for their communities. Mel Kahn, a 2001 winner of the award named after Singer—"Mr. Los Altos"—and his wife, will present Chu with the award.

The award will put a spotlight on the eldest son of the eponymous Chef Chu, who has quietly built a solid record of service in the towns where he grew up. 

Larry Chu came back from Hong Kong 10 years ago, after working a sports marketing job he took right after graduating from UC-Los Angeles. His father wanted to know what he intended to do, because he wasn't going to run Chef Chu's forever. Restaurant work is a tough, demanding business.

"I couldn't imagine Los Altos without Chef Chu's," he said simply. And he was ready. H was just married to his wife, whom he met in Hong Kong, and wanted quality of life, in a place where he could raise a family.

So he signed on as partner with his father, who urged him to join Los Altos Rotary right away. Then he joined the Chamber of Commerce. Pretty soon, the YMCA approached him to join its board. And he joined the El Camino Hospital Foundation Board. His father gave him time off from the restaurant, and his wife supported him in those activities.

"I had to think about what makes a good community, a strong community," he said. "And I chose the organizations that I thought make up a strong community."

He eventually chaired the Y board, he said, because of the people on the board who mentored him and taught him. Getting involved in the groups, where he can have a role in multi-million-dollar campaigns and allocate millions in funds have contributed tremendously to his personal growth, he said.

He has mentored two people himself through Partners For New Generations and said he's learned as much from them as he's taught them. One is a Los Altos High School student. The other has triumphed over a lot of setbacks and just started at Foothill Community College.

After 10 years, Chu said he's cut back some. He's no longer on the Y board, and he's got an 8-month-old son now, Lawrence Chu III.

The singer award justifies all those early-morning meetings and late nights at the restaurant, he said.

"I've got a lot of love for Los Altos," he said "There's a sense of community working together to make things better."