Cherished pho restaurant closes its last San Francisco location

Vietnamese restaurant Turtle Tower has closed its remaining San Francisco location after 23 years.

The popular pho restaurant quietly closed its doors at 501 6th St. on Nov. 19, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, which first reported the closure. (The Chronicle and SFGATE are both owned by Hearst but have separate newsrooms.)

While a goodbye note on the door gave the official dates of closure and thanked customers over the years, specific details behind the closure are unknown. Owner Steven Nghia Pham simply told the Chronicle, “Everything is so hard to do business, so we close,” but did not elaborate.

The news comes two months after Turtle Tower shuttered its Tenderloin site at 645 Larkin St. on Sept. 17. A month leading up to that closure, Tablehopper first reported that the Larkin Street store was listed for sale in August. Family member Thao Pham told Tablehopper they were “seeing their options.”

Hard times fell on Turtle Tower a few years ago when business sales dropped by 50% at the beginning of the pandemic, according to Thao Pham, who spoke to SFGATE in 2020. In May 2020, an individual stole about $30 from the Larking Street site tip jar during the restaurant’s lunch rush. Pham said in a statement at the time that the episode was “a terrifying experience at a time when we are just trying to survive as a small business.”

Best known for its steaming bowls of pho ga, or chicken pho, Turtle Tower was a popular destination among locals and celebrities alike. Fans included Ali Wong, who shared that Turtle Tower was among her favorite restaurants in the city. During its height, Turtle Tower had four restaurants across San Francisco that included former locations at 5716 Geary Blvd. and a site at San Francisco State University.

SFGATE reached out to Turtle Tower for comment but did not hear back in time for publication.