Sam Wo Restaurant

[jdhowland]

Bummer. Another Chinatown shrine to simple living is gone.

Like my sifu's Mason Street school, closed because it could not meet city safety regulations, the crusty grunge of these kinds of places was part of their charm.

[GeneChing]

I haven't been in there in years. They had the best jook in S.F.

SF's Sam Wo restaurant might get chance to reopen
Vivian Ho,Paolo Lucchesi
Saturday, April 21, 2012

Sam Wo restaurant in San Francisco's Chinatown closed its doors Friday for violating a litany of fire and health codes, but the story's not over yet for one of the city's most storied hole-in-the-wall eateries.

Owners of the 100-year-old Washington Street restaurant famous for its no-frills, late-night food and its you-get-what-you-get service have the chance to plead their case Tuesday morning at a hearing with the city's Public Health Department, said department spokeswoman Eileen Shields.

Owner David Ho's daughter, Julie, told The Chronicle that they plan to attend the meeting.

"This restaurant is my life," she said Friday, overcome with emotion. "We're definitely closing for the weekend, but beyond that nothing is definite."

Ho, whose father was home resting after a long day, said lines to get in one last meal at the restaurant were wrapped around the block for most of the day Friday. While they'll certainly have the support to stay open - the restaurant gained renown in the city thanks to the storytelling of Armistead Maupin, Herb Caen and even Conan O'Brien - it will be an uphill battle, Shields said.

The health inspection report noted a series of violations ranging from employees not washing their hands and contaminating food to rodent feces in the kitchen and improper food storage.

But the fact of the matter is, the restaurant is "too old. Everything's too old," said David Ho, 56. And bringing the rickety, three-story building into this century will be costly.

"My understanding is that a lot of the violations require a large infusion of money to fix," Shields said. "They're major fixes - everything from venting to plumbing to electrical all need to be upgraded."

Julie Ho said a lot of people are involved in possibly reopening the restaurant, including the landlord, but they'll have to see what happens after Tuesday's meeting.

At the meeting, the owners must present their plans to bring the restaurant back up to code, Shields said. If those plans are approved and the owners follow through with their renovations, Sam Wo will be back in business.

"It's permitting, it's plans - it's a lot of money and time," she said. "But people are so very loyal to that restaurant and San Francisco is a city where nothing goes down easy. I'm hoping for the best and that the neighbors and supporters will rally."

[mickey]

Greetings,

Do either of you sense that the pressure to close this place is just another step towards gentrifying the area?

If the renovations are too costly, it will be sold to the heartless developers who really do not care about who gets displaced nor who gets placed. it is about the money to them, so to speak. Here, in NYC, I have seen the well to do pay top dollar to live in sheetrock matchboxes with low ceilings, lower than that offered in the projects. It is really sad. I hope the various Tongs are hip enough to what is going on to pull together.

mickey

[GeneChing]

It was basically three stories of crowded hallways. The dining rooms weren't really rooms. Hallways. It was really claustrophobic, especially during their lunch or dinner rush. It was the kind of place you didn't really want to be in during a fire, an earthquake or a Tong shootout.

But great jook. Lawd knows what made their jook so good. Maybe it was the rodent feces.

[mickey]

Hi Gene,

That being said, those health and safety code violations could have been enforced a long time ago. Why now?

mickey

[GeneChing]

I don't really know. I'm sure the health dept have had their eye on them for a long time. I would hope the health dept has their eye constantly on all restaurants. SF just had another historic place close. They tried to apply for historic landmark status. This got a lot more press as only those in the know knew Sam Wo's but everyone knew the Gold Dust.

Gold Dust Lounge isn't ruled historic landmark
Rachel Gordon, Stephanie M. Lee,John Coté
Thursday, April 5, 2012

The Gold Dust Lounge has history - but it is not a historic landmark.

That's what the San Francisco Historic Preservation Commission decided Wednesday in a 5-2 vote that dealt a blow to supporters of the 47-year-old bar near Union Square.

Bargoers want to keep their watering hole even though the Handlery family, which owns the building, exercised a clause in the Gold Dust's lease in December and gave owners Jim and Tasios Bovis three months to clear out. The family wants to put a store there instead. Both sides are suing each other.

In late March, the preservation commission - absent Commissioner Andrew Wolfram - deadlocked 3-3 on a vote.

On Wednesday, Wolfram sided with the majority against granting the bar landmark status, saying that while he thinks it's a "great" bar, "I don't believe this initiation of landmark designation will make a difference." Commissioners Alan Martinez and Diane Matsuda voted in support of the lounge.

Wolfram and other commissioners also pointed out the Gold Dust didn't meet the written criteria for historic preservation.

Sam Singer, a spokesman for the Handlery family, said, "We're pleased that they did the right thing ... and our eviction proceedings will continue against the Bovises."

Supervisor Christina Olague plans to introduce legislation Tuesday to designate the Gold Dust Lounge a historic landmark, which would override the Historic Preservation Commission.

And to add more fuel to the fire, Lee Houskeeper, a spokesman for the Bovises, said the bar's supporters will seek to landmark Lefty O'Doul's, which is just around the corner from the Gold Dust. It is also owned by the Handlery family - and run by the Bovis family. Its lease is not up for at least another decade, Houskeeper said.