On October 28, 1952, Charlie Cheung arrived in Toronto from China in search for a better future. He was only 23 years old. His 1st job was at Fat Laundry, which paid $10 per week. During this time the owner allowed young Charlie to sleep in the back room of the laundry mat because he didn't have enough money to get a place of his own. Shortly after, he got his second job working at Nanking Restaurant located on Elizabeth Street (in a community which would become Toronto's first Chinatown). This job paid $35 per week. Charlie's duties at the restaurant included everything from cleaning floors, cooking, and delivering Chinese food. This was considered a good job for someone without an education. He stayed in their employ for 18 years.

In 1957, Betty came to Canada to join her husband Charlie. By this time, Charlie had saved enough money to buy a house at 39 Beverly St. where they both lived for the next 7 years.

During the 1960's, Charlie and Betty had both set a foundation where they started to build something substantial. Betty was working as a seamstress while Charlie continued working at Nanking Restaurant all while making connections with other restaurant owners.

In the evenings, Charlie and Betty started producing and selling cured meats from the smoke room they built in the basement of their home. This product became very popular in the Chinese Community. Charlie then made a deal with Quality Meat Packers to buy all of their pork stomachs, a product that was being disposed of because the Western Market had no use for it. These pork stomachs were considered a delicacy in the Chinese Community, and Charlie now had a monopoly.

​In 1971, Charlie and Betty decided to start their own business. They purchased a small building at 383 Broadview Avenue which was the beginning of "CHARLIE'S MEAT".  As the Chinese population in Toronto grew over time, so did their business.