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Thread: Sam Wo Restaurant

  1. #1
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    Sam Wo Restaurant

    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.
    "Look, I'm only doing me job. I have to show you how to defend yourself against fresh fruit."

    For it breeds great perfection, if the practise be harder then the use. Sir Francis Bacon

    the world has a surplus of self centered sh1twh0res, so anyone who extends compassion to a stranger with sincerity is alright in my book. also people who fondle road kill. those guys is ok too. GunnedDownAtrocity

  2. #2
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    There might be a reprieve

    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."
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  3. #3
    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

  4. #4
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    Well, for the record, Sam Wo's had the wackiest architecture

    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.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  5. #5
    Hi Gene,

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

    mickey

  6. #6
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    Fair question

    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.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
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  7. #7
    Hi Gene,

    It looks like there is money to be made in both situations. In NYC Chinatown, the Tongs appear to be very much involved in property ownership. I hope it is the same out there.

    mickey

  8. #8
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    Rally round the jook

    Sam Wo owners, city work on reopening
    Paolo Lucchesi
    Wednesday, April 25, 2012

    Supporters of the Sam Wo restaurant flooded a hearing room at the Department of Public Health on Tuesday to defend the 100-year-old Chinatown eating place made famous by the late Edsel Ford Fung, who was often described as the world's rudest waiter.

    Sam Wo closed Friday due to significant code violations, but owner David Ho and city representatives agreed to work together to save the historic restaurant.

    At Tuesday's hearing, Ho listened as inspectors from the health, fire and building departments listed the violations and the corrections required to reopen. At the end of the 90-minute hearing, both sides agreed that the restaurant could reopen if the necessary changes were made.

    No decision was made on a possible reopening date.

    Ho and his family expressed their desire to continue operating, which came as good news to the restaurant's supporters.

    "Of course we're going to comply. We can't let anyone else down," said Julie Ho, David Ho's daughter. "It's not just the matter of our family, it's for everyone. This is for Chinatown and San Francisco."

    To reopen, the owners need to make certain immediate changes. These include installing a commercial refrigeration unit; separate sinks for hand washing, dishwashing and food preparation; and eliminating rodents with the help of a licensed pest control service.

    Other required repairs include the fire escape and getting rid of the numerous electrical cords that thread through the restaurant.

    "I have to treat it like I would treat any other restaurant," said Nhi Tu, the health department inspector who spoke at length during the hearing about Sam Wo's "long history of repeat health code violations." Tu presented dozens of photographs depicting the restaurant's violations, ranging from rodent feces on shelves to the unsanitary sink.

    "Everyone is afforded the same due process, and we always try to work with the different business owners on correcting the issues," Tu said. He noted that the department would also offer in-house, food-safety training to the restaurant's employees.

    Officials said long-term compliance goals, such as repairing floors and ceilings, replacing shelving and food preparation tables, and providing better lighting in work areas, could be addressed later.

    "I have been a customer of Sam Wo for 60 years and I never got sick from eating it," said one man during the public comment session. His declaration was met with applause and laughter. Other speakers shared memories of how waiter Fung insisted that customers order two plates of noodles to stay healthy.

    The restaurant's current lease runs for only six more months. Public records list the building's owner as Pui Yee Chan. Neither Chan nor a representative identified themselves at the hearing.

    Richard Lee, the health department's food safety director, said if the violations resurfaced, the restaurant's permit could be revoked.
    I'm glad as the place is an institution, although in all honesty, I haven't eaten there in over a decade.
    Gene Ching
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  9. #9
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    But the big question is... has the place ever made anyone sick?

    I mean, I eat with Afghans from time to time, and they use their hands on common plates without washing them, and we're all eating the same stuff. Never got sick. Eat something from the DFAC at FOB Walton, where hygeine standards are rigorously enforced, and I am puking all night...
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  10. #10
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    Back in business!

    Official website here.

    Changed the title of this thread from "Sam Wo Restaurant has closed its doors" to "Sam Wo Restaurant"

    Sam Wo, century-old Chinatown noodle joint, blooms anew
    By Paolo Lucchesi
    October 2, 2015 Updated: October 2, 2015 5:22pm


    From left, David Ho and Julie Ho clean up the restaurant. Photo: Nathaniel Y. Downes, The Chronicle

    David Ho and Steven Lee were standing in the middle of the dining room of the newly relocated, soon-to-open Sam Wo, staring down to the basement kitchen through a giant, gaping hole.

    The rest of the polished dining room was complete, densely hung with vintage photographs of the century-old San Francisco noodle joint, stark against a red wall of modern murals. The hole in the floor would soon house a custom-made dumbwaiter, shuttling plates to and from the various levels — a nostalgic reference to the iconic dumbwaiter at the original Sam Wo, which had been in business for a century before closing in 2012.

    “It cost us $30,000,” said Lee of the dumbwaiter, the final piece of the puzzle. “If we could have found someone who made it, it would be one-quarter the amount, but nobody knows how to make it.”

    Despite the hassle and price tag, building a new dumbwaiter was a non-negotiable element for longtime owner Ho and his new partner, Lee. The resurrected Chinatown hole-in-the-wall restaurant was famous for such quirks, along with its dirt-cheap noodles and night-owl hours. It was also home of the late Edsel Ford Fung, known as “the world’s rudest waiter.”

    Just a few blocks away

    This month, pending navigation of a labyrinth of permits and inspections, the restaurant will finally reopen. The new Sam Wo is a few blocks from its former home — the rickety, decaying Washington Street building that prompted Herb Caen to once dub it the “skinniest Chinese restaurant in town” — and directly next to another Chinatown gathering place, Portsmouth Square. The buzz has been building steadily over the past few months and should reach a crescendo as the restaurant’s tentative opening date, Oct. 19, approaches.

    Ho has owned Sam Wo for 30 years. Speaking through a translator — his daughter, Julie, who also works in the restaurant — in a soft and gravelly voice, he confesses that when the restaurant was forced to shut down 3˝ years ago for health code violations, he never expected it to reopen.


    The new location of Sam Wo is decorated with old photos, signs and decorations from the original location. Photo: Nathaniel Y. Downes, The Chronicle

    Ho explains that Sam Wo represents much more than tomato beef chow fun and a funky dining experience; for himself, his family and countless other Chinatown families, Sam Wo was a community hub for first- and second-generation Chinese Americans.

    “It’s really a community project as a whole. There’s so much community,” said Stefano Cassolato, a neighborhood lobbyist helping the Ho family with permits. “It’s a labor of love for them.”

    The return of Sam Wo also represents a piece of San Francisco culture restored.

    It was the place where Allen Ginsberg and company went to eat after the historic “Howl” reading in 1955. The family-run business was immortalized in Armistead Maupin’s “Tales of the City” series in the 1970s and 1980s, and in 2007, even found its way into a skit on Conan O’Brien’s TV show. Most important, it provided a place for San Franciscans to gather, be merry, and dine — cheaply — at all hours of the day and night.


    Sam Wo's new location is at 713-715 Clay Street. Photo: Nathaniel Y. Downes, The Chronicle

    Charm mixed with caution

    Over the decades, the restaurant resisted renovation and modernization. The anachronistic nature of the business was part of the charm for its legions of regulars, but the various city departments — namely health inspectors — thought otherwise. Due to a laundry list of violations, Sam Wo closed its Washington Street restaurant in April 2012 despite a line out the door in its waning days.

    “Any city has a lot of rats, so they’ll find a way to get in,” said Lee, echoing the sentiments of many Sam Wo loyalists who scoffed at the violations. “You can’t really blame the health department, but then again it displaced a family’s business.”

    Lee, a partner in several San Francisco nightclubs, was one of the dozens of diners who made the pilgrimage to Sam Wo on its final day, telling the Ho family that he would be there for whatever they needed. He wanted to make sure that they could reopen at some point, be it at the same location or a different one.

    Following the closure, the Ho family and the building’s landlord tried to work out a deal. Lee helped them raise the money necessary for renovations, but the rent increase was insurmountable. The deal fell through.


    Julie Ho retells an anecdote about the well-loved 1960's owner of Sam Wo, Edsel Ford Fong, who used to yell at patrons who did not wash their hands after leaving the restrooms. Photo: Nathaniel Y. Downes, The Chronicle

    Lee prompted the Sam Wo contingent to trademark the name, ensuring that no one else could open a Sam Wo in the space, without David Ho. Remarked Lee: “He is Sam Wo.”

    The search for a new location began — and ended up taking years. The requirements were simple, but not easy to fulfill: The new Sam Wo had to be in Chinatown, in an older building, and not too expensive.

    Eventually, they landed the former Anna Bakery space at 713-715 Clay St., across the street from Portsmouth Square and a few blocks from the Financial District. And, in a serendipitous twist, a mezzanine and basement allowed the regime to recreate a version of Sam Wo’s three-story dynamic.

    But old-timers might not recognize the place, despite a smattering of rescued signs from the old location.

    “We’ve updated the decor,” said Lee. He added what he describes as a Hong Kong noodle house flair, making it a modernized version of the original location, which is rumored to become an outpost of a cosmetics supply chain. “It’s not the funky place it was, but it has that old-school feel.”


    From left, Julie Ho, David Ho, Benson Lai and Steven Lee inside the new Sam Wo. The legendary restaurant closed in 2012 after servicing the Chinatown community for over 100 years and is now reopening in a new location. Photo: Nathaniel Y. Downes, The Chronicle

    Photo: Nathaniel Y. Downes, The Chronicle
    Image 1 of 6

    Greatly reduced menu

    There will be differences beyond the new address as well. Citing a desire for cooking consistency, the menu will be greatly reduced from its sprawling last incarnation, which ran dozens of items — though Julie Ho promises that all the classics, led by the famous rice noodle rolls, will still be there. And she vows to keep prices as low as possible.

    The Ho family will still be front and center. But operations will no longer be a slapdash affair.

    “It’s different. It’s a larger place, but it’s cool because it’s going to be a team of employees,” said Julie Ho. “It’s now a real business, not just a family thing.”

    Chief in that movement toward financial legitimacy is Lee, a businessman who built a number of nightclubs around town and has a network of investors.

    He has plans to eventually sell Sam Wo products in the restaurant, like jars of hot mustard, and even envisions getting into the wholesale business. “If Ling Ling can do it, Sam Wo can do it!” he exclaimed, referring to the frozen food brand that began as a Bay Area restaurant.

    Plans are under way to offer beer and wine, which would slightly change waiter Fung’s house rules that were preserved atop the menu after his death in 1984: “No Booze, No B.S., No Jive, No Coffee, Milk, Soft Drinks, Fortune Cookies.”

    Lee, like many others, sees opportunity in a new generation of Chinatown.

    Nearby food-centric projects like Mister Jiu’s, a forthcoming modern Chinese restaurant in the former Four Seas space, and China Live, a sprawling food complex inspired by New York mega-marketplace Eataly, are expected to attract fresh faces to the neighborhood. Meanwhile, even longtime neighborhood dive bars like Li Po and Red’s have already been commandeered by younger crowds.

    Story of a neighborhood

    For his part, David Ho is optimistic about the return of Sam Wo, calling it a feel-good story that depicts how a community can band together, as it has done for a century.

    He explains that Sam Wo — the original version — was born in the wake of a tragedy, the 1906 earthquake. Government funding from China helped rebuild San Francisco’s Chinatown, and through subsequent decades, waves of various San Francisco characters passed through the restaurant, kept it going and added to its layers of legend.

    “A long time ago, it was built from something bad, and something nice blossomed from it,” David Ho said. “The restaurant blooming again is something to look forward to.”

    Paolo Lucchesi is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: plucchesi@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @lucchesi
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

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