Sam Wo

A friend had moved to overseas for almost three years and finally returned to San Francisco. We decided to meet at Chinatown for our reunion.

While I was driving to there, he called me and said, “Sam Wo is closed for good?”

“Yes, it was closed in 2012. I was there on its last night.”

Dec. 15, 2014

He suspired as if a kid realized Disneyland is closed at the front gate.

During our lunch, we couldn’t stop talking about Sam Wo. We had totally forgotten that we had not seen each other for almost three years.

April 20, 2012.
Sam Wo second floor.

Sam Wo Restaurant was located at 813 Washington St. It had been in business over a century. Because of its building is too narrow, the entire ground floor was the kitchen, so customers had to pass the kitchen before to be seated on second or third floor. Because the kitchen was on the ground floor, and the stair was too steep, all the food and dishes were delivered from the kitchen to second floor and third floor by a dumbwaiter.

Since its business hour was from 11 a.m. to 3 a.m., it was a popular place to din after clubbing. It was usual to see people smoking on the third floor at mid-night. Therefore, it attracted many violence to the restaurant.

Sam Wo is famous of its business attitude. Edsel Ford Fong worked for San Wo and described as the world’s rudest waiter by Herb Caen, a columnist.

This note might give you a little bit of its business attitude.

The restaurant was closed on April 20, 2012, for health department and fire department violations. On the last night, three of my friends and I waited 4 hours, although half of the dishes on the menu were already sold out, I was happy that I was there on Sam Wo’s last night.

April 20, 2014.
11 p.m.

When we finished and left the restaurant, people who were still waiting in line clapped for they are one step closer to their goal, to be seated. Clearly, they knew that Sam Wo had nothing left to serve.

Rumors have been circulating in the community that Sam Wo is seeking a new place. However, the latest updates from its official website was more than a year ago.