Attention late night diners: ~NOPA~ will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday for maintenance, and according to a tweet, will be returning on Thursday with shiny floors!
The big news last week was about the closure of the over-100-year-old Chinatown icon SAM WO, known as the home of the infamous waiter Edsel Ford Fung. Although the news was grim (owner David Ho said it was so old that it would be too challenging to bring the restaurant up to code), according to this post on SFist, the owner’s daughter, Julie Ho, is rallying to save the place. As reported on SFist: “According to a spokesperson for the Health Department, ‘everything from venting to plumbing to electrical all need to be upgraded’ to pass muster.”
Growing up in San Mateo, Sam Wo’s had a popular rep among my fellow high school buddies for looking the other way when you felt like doing some good ole underage beer drinkin’ (God bless ‘em)—there was a nearby liquor store that would sell to you, and you could BYOB. Yeah, good times. (Scoop has a great slideshow, and the commenters’ memories are a fun read, for a change.) As for the fate of the place, at the Health Department hearing this morning, a number of changes were outlined that need to be made—we’ll see if the restaurant makes them and reopens again. 813 Washington St. at Grant, 415-982-0596.
On Sunday, I ran into Arnold Eric Wong of ~E&O TRADING COMPANY~, who told me the restaurant’s planned renovations have been delayed until just after Memorial Day, when it will close for a month or so. (It ends up a historic façade is making the permitting process go a little slower.) Which means you have another month of corn fritters!
The slip of a space that was Sam Wo. Photo from Sam Wo’s website.
