116-year-old restaurant in SF Chinatown faces closure – AsAmNews

Sam Wo, a popular and iconic restaurant in San Francisco Chinatown popular with tourists and locals alike, could close by the end of the year.

Chef and owner David Jitong Ho announced his plans to retire after 42 years of work last September. Ho and Sam Wo co-owner Steven Lee has been looking for potential buyers, but leads have been slow.

“We always knew this day would come,” Lee said in an interview with SFGATE. “Mr. Ho wanted to move on, and even when we tried to retire him, he didn't want to leave. He just loves the place. But now he's ready to leave. His body can't handle it.”

“It's not that the landlords won't renew for us, it's just that we don't feel comfortable without a really good operator to keep Sam Wo running, so we can't sign the lease,” explained Lee continued in an NBC Bay Area interview. “We are looking for someone to take over Mr. Ho’s family and become our partner in this community project. Or we sell the restaurant. We have a national broker who will recruit Sam Wo across the country.”

According to a San Francisco Standard interview, several parties approached Sam Wo about a purchase, but “none were the right fit to continue Sam Wo's legacy of serving affordable, comforting cuisine in the country's oldest Chinatown.”

Currently priced at $381,895, Sam Wo is described as “a rare and special opportunity” to “take hold of a historic full-service restaurant in the heart of Chinatown with global recognition and ongoing media attention.”

Lee told SFGATE that interested buyers would be trained by Ho himself to recreate Sam Wo's signature dishes in order to maintain the restaurant's classic menu. However, depending on the wishes of the potential buyer, there may be new menu additions.

Sam Wo was founded in 1908 and has been a fixture in San Francisco's Chinatown ever since. Sam Wo's previous clients include Ken Jeong, Conan O'Brien and Martin Yan. The restaurant also previously employed the late Edsel Ford Fung, known as “the rudest waiter in the world.”

Ho's son Jason and his sister will not take over the family business. Jason told NBC Bay Area his father didn't want them to take the job away from him, saying, “It's really hard work.” He's here almost every day and works 10-plus hours, you know? And he doesn't want that for us. You know, he wants us to find our own passions and careers.”

Sam Wo previously closed its previous address at 813 Washington St in 2012 when Ho was unable to upgrade the building to meet health and safety standards. Ho partnered with Lee in 2015 and Sam Wo reopened at its current location at 713 Clay St.

In the event that Sam Wo closes, Lee plans to keep the name alive by converting the brand into a packaged food line.

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