Charles Phan Comes Home to the Mission

In what is being viewed as a welcome return for many people in the Mission District, chef and restaurateur Charles Phan is back with a new restaurant in his old digs.

Wo Hing General Store, Phan’s Chinese street food concept, is opening on Friday, October 28 at the site of the original Slanted Door on Valencia Street. Phan is overseeing the operations and has left both the food and bar in good hands.

Executive Chef Michelle Mah is taking the reins using seasonal ingredients from local purveyors to along with Phan, create a wide-ranging and eclectic menu. Dumplings, noodle dishes, skewered items and small seafood items will just be part of the samplings offered. Mah is a former Chronicle Rising Star Chef and spent time at both Ponzu and Midi in Union Square.

Not to be outdone, the bar program at Wo Hing General Store is being headed by former Chronicle Bar Star Brooke Arthur, who most recently headed up the cocktail program at Prospect. If the preview event was any indication, expect a list of cocktails from punches to piña coladas and everything in between and beyond. Wine and beer will also help to fill out the cocktail list. And if you’ve ever been to some of Phan’s other restaurants, like The Slanted Door and Heaven’s Dog, expect plenty of strong, yet flavorful drinks, if that’s your thing.

The interior of the restaurant is very Missiony (if that’s a word) with some wonderfully beautiful artwork on the walls, multi-colored pieces throughout and two stories of seating for patrons. The seats and tables are expected in this week. One of the neat details from designer Olle Lundberg: the wooden bar and tabletops will all be coming from an old bowling alley.

Wo Hing General Store is located at 584 Valencia Street and the grand opening is scheduled for Friday, October 28 at 5:30 p.m. The restaurant will be open seven days a week and will eventually also offer lunch as well.

It's simple. Keith Mizuguchi loves to write and write and write some more. After taking a hiatus from the journalism business, he has rekindled his passion for writing over the last two years, holding a job as both a web and on-air writer for San Francisco news radio station KCBS. While he enjoys the news business, his true passions are twofold: sports and food. Bay Area born and raised, he lives in San Jose, commutes to SF and loves every minute of it. You can follow his food adventures on Twitter @foodie_keith.