Amanda Ngo had baked one of her Thanksgiving signature dishes for the send-off: A sheet of apple cake, which she handed out to customers and neighbors who dropped by today to say their goodbyes to Duc Loi’s longtime owners.
“We’re really sad to leave the Mission,” Amanda said. “My whole life is here.”
Today is Howard and Amanda Ngo’s last day at 2200 Mission St., where they’ve run Asian grocery store Duc Loi for the last 27 years.
It’s not the end of Duc Loi: The Ngos plan to reopen their former satellite store at 5900 Third St. in Bayview, which closed in 2019 — though that opening date is uncertain.
Amanda said it was difficult trying to run two stores. When another local grocer showed interest in taking over the store, the couple saw it as their chance to finish what they started in Bayview.
So it’s not the end of groceries at 18th and Mission: The Mission store will be taken over tomorrow by Ismael Ahmed to become International Produce Market. The Ngos will continue to own the building.
But it will be the couple’s last day in the Mission, and Amanda Ngo took the time to say her goodbyes. As she walked around the store today, customers stopped her to wish her and Howard well in their new venture. They’ve left the Ngos vases of flowers and more cake.
Amanda Ngo is easily recognized by most, who know her as the lady behind the Duc Loi deli counter, hand-making and serving banh mi sandwiches, which her husband says they’ll keep serving at the Bayview location.
She’s also known for the Thanksgiving dinners she cooked with volunteers and shared with the community’s needy every few years.
Lee Hepner, a long-time neighbor and customer of the store, left a poster and markers by the front entrance for well-wishers to leave notes.
Hepner says he’s known Amanda for years, but became closer with her while trying to help the couple get city resources to fight graffiti; Hepner was, for years, a legislative aide to Board President Aaron Peskin.
“My fear was that, after 27 years, they were going to close with a whimper,” he said. “I wanted to show Amanda that people appreciated her.”
Hepner is grateful that the new management, which also runs local Evergreen market at 21st and Mission streets, are still from the neighborhood. The new staff was hard at work getting the store ready for tomorrow, completely emptying the frozen section for a deep clean and learning their way around the registers.
For her part, Amanda says she and her husband aren’t sure when the Bayview location will reopen, and the couple have a lot of work ahead of them getting it ready. But she’s optimistic.
“I’m happy that I can move forward,” she said.
The Mission’s loss is Bayview’s gain. I sincerely wish Duc Loi all the success in the world in the “new” location. Those Banh Mi’s alone are worth the trip there. But I also have to wonder what else is behind this decision, as another commenter noted. Amanda had a rough go of it last time around, and it’s not like the crime situation anywhere in SF has gotten any better since then. I do hope they have better signage and do more to raise local awareness of the existence of the store. You could drive right past it on 3rd St. and never even know it was there. It’s now up to Bayview neighbors to support this store. Good luck Amanda and Howard!
Sorry that the Mission store is closing. Love the sandwiches and it’s a great source for Asian ingredients. Hope they’re more successful this time around in Bayview; I will shop there as it’s closer to where I live, but that part of 3rd St is south of the commercial core, and a tough location for attracting people without cars.
Bummer. I bought all may Asian groceries there: bok choi, eggplant, noodles, etc. Today they didn’t even have decent coconut milk, and no thai/japanese eggplant. I wish her the best. She looked stressed out to me running that store. Tough neighborhood for a small business.
27 years in the mission amazing, they own the building even better. Duc Loi never hit my sweet spot as a shopping destination, but they brought much needed stability, sanity to that corner, and truly uplifted the community.
Looking forward to the new produce market.
They’re not fools . These are good business people who see a HUGE opportunity . Remember reparations are coming shortly . This will revitalize the BayView in ways nobody could imagine . Will bring money to peoples pockets . These people are just getting ahead of the wave . 5m per decent of slaves buyout and 200k yearly income will see the Bayview flourish .
I’ll have what he’s having
Foolish to try again in the bayview location. It was a big failure last time- not enough customers and a lot of thefts. Plus that location is very isolated. Why are they going back? Something doesn’t add up here. Are they getting heavy city subsidies to go back in? Bayview and 3rd st have been a big failure already back in 2017-18, and went further downhill since the pandemic. Lots of ineptitude and nonprofits scamming sfgov. Like I said, something doesn’t add up here.
SFrentier pretty much said, don’t invest in the Bayview and don’t trust those that do. I don’t agree.
Nothing to do with “trust.” It’s the usual ineptitude of sfgov, that’s all. As for private investing in BV? Well BV had high hopes of becoming like the mission, but it didn’t work. It was like, 2015- land grab in the bayview! 2021- pump and dump in the bayview!
Sorry but ‘dems the facts. I don’t make ‘em, I just report ‘em.
There is something odd here……I do really like the Evergreen Market and wish Ahmed the best….but the Ngos own the building they are leaving, for a spot that did poorly before…….let’s see what happens….