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Imperial Garden Seafood Restaurant to close after 31 years in San Francisco

Imperial Garden Seafood Restaurant to close after 31 years in San Francisco

Money Moves San Francisco, CA local

Family-owned dim sum spot and Legacy Business serves last meal Dec. 31

Today: San Francisco Standard reports closure

Overview

Updated 1 hour ago

Imperial Garden Seafood Restaurant, a dim sum mainstay on San Bruno Avenue for 31 years, will serve its last meal Dec. 31. The Yen family opened it in 1995, and it became a neighborhood anchor and a San Francisco Legacy Business.

The property sold in February, and the new owners let the family exit the lease early. Owner Elaine Yen cites a neighborhood eating out less, parking shortages, and the pandemic's long shadow. The restaurant has struggled since COVID despite being the only vegan dim sum option in the city.

Why it matters

The closure ends a 31-year family business and removes San Francisco's only vegan dim sum option.

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Key Indicators

31
Years in business
Opened 1995, closing Dec. 31, 2026
1
Vegan dim sum businesses in San Francisco
Imperial Garden houses Sassy Foods, the city's only vegan dim sum
3
Break-ins in 2022
Yen cites safety concerns among reasons for closing

Voices

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People Involved

Organizations Involved

Timeline

1995 December 2026

9 events Latest: Today
Tap a bar to jump to that date
  1. Final day of service

    Upcoming Closure

    Imperial Garden serves its last meal as announced.

  2. San Francisco Standard reports closure

    Today Media

    The Standard publishes the story of the Yen family's decision to close.

  3. Closure announced on Instagram

    Announcement

    Restaurant announces final day of service will be Dec. 31.

  4. Supervisor supports Legacy Business addition

    Recognition

    District 9 Supervisor Jackie Felder writes a letter of recommendation for the registry.

  5. Property sold, new owners offer early exit

    Real Estate

    New owners give the Yen family the option to exit the lease early.

  6. Menny Ly joins to run Sassy Foods

    Business

    Childhood friend of Elaine Yen brings vegan dim sum into the restaurant.

  7. Three break-ins at the restaurant

    Incident

    Break-ins raise public safety concerns for the family.

  8. Pandemic hits, business struggles

    Business

    COVID-19 pandemic reduces traffic; Yen says 2020 would have been the best time to close.

  9. Imperial Garden opens on San Bruno Avenue

    Opening

    Phong and Elin Yen open the restaurant in San Francisco's Portola neighborhood.

Scenarios

1

Imperial Garden serves final meal Dec. 31

Likely Resolves by Jan 15, 2027

Discussed by: The San Francisco Standard, restaurant's own announcement

The restaurant closes as announced on Dec. 31, 2026. The Yen family exits the lease early with the new property owners' blessing. Regulars come for final meals in the last weeks.

2

Sassy Foods finds new East Bay home

Likely Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: Menny Ly via San Francisco Standard

Sassy Foods relocates to a new permanent location in the East Bay, keeping the city's only vegan dim sum business alive outside San Francisco.

3

New owners repurpose the San Bruno Avenue space

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: San Francisco Standard (no long-term plan for restaurant)

The new property owners, who bought in February 2026, find a new tenant or use for the space. The article notes there is no long-term plan for a restaurant there.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

1875-1906

The Tape Family (1875-1906)

Joseph and Mary Tape, Chinese immigrants in San Francisco, built a middle-class life through entrepreneurship. Their daughter Mamie won a civil rights lawsuit securing Chinese American access to public schools.

Then

The Tape family gained access to San Francisco's middle class despite exclusion laws.

Now

Their story illustrates the long arc of Chinese American families building businesses and fighting for rights in San Francisco.

Why this matters now

Shows the deep history of Chinese American family entrepreneurship in San Francisco, the same tradition the Yen family carried on.

2020s

House of Dim Sum (2020s)

A Chinatown dim sum restaurant where the parents who ran it for decades were aging. Daughter Abby returned from the private sector to take over, upgrading ordering systems and expanding catering.

Then

The business adapted to a new generation of customers.

Now

Shows a contrasting outcome where a family business survived through generational transition.

Why this matters now

Contrasts with Imperial Garden, where the daughter chose to close rather than continue.

Sources

(3)