Chantha Bob helps serve the last lunch crowd at the Anaheim Street site of Sophy's restaurant. (Jeff Gritchen / Staff Photographer)Press-Telegram Long Beach
There's no rest as Sophy's restaurant moves to PCH site
By Greg Mellen, Staff Writer
10/31/2008
LONG BEACH - While a worker was banging away in the kitchen at Sophy's Fine Thai and Cambodian Cuisine on Anaheim Street, a crew of painters several blocks away was busy working on her new place.
And then there was the plumber - wait, where the heck's the plumber?
On Halloween afternoon, as the cooks and serving staff at the popular Cambodian restaurant waited for the dinner crowd to start arriving, Sophy Khut, the restaurant's owner and namesake, was in nonstop motion and dealing with inevitable devils that pop up in a quick move.
The popular eatery served its last meal Friday night. But fans will be happy to know that Sophy was planning to be open for dinner tonight at the new Sophy's, at 3240 E. Pacific Coast Highway.
For nearly eight years, Sophy's has been a mainstay for fans of authentic Cambodian and also Thai food. However, the landlord at the Anaheim Street site refused to renew the lease when it came up, forcing Sophy's to find a new home.
"We got lucky," says Chet Khut, Sophy's younger brother. "We didn't know where we were going to go."
One day Sophy was talking to a customer and learned that the owner of a site on PCH was looking for a tenant.
As Sophy sat at her restaurant in the 3700 block of Anaheim Street, all but one painting removed from the walls, she looked around wistfully.
"I'm sad, but I'm also excited," she said. "The sad part is I've been here for a long time and I started from scratch. This place gave me the opportunity to feel like I was able to do something successful in life."
For many members of the Cambodian community, Sophy's has also been like a small town hall where they gather and discuss issues.
Sophy opened the restaurant, then called Ruth's Country Kitchen, with $30,000 she cobbled together from family members. She moved into the cramped 1,200-square foot space on Jan. 1, 2001.
Chantha Bob, her longtime friend, had discovered the spot when he stopped for a cup of coffee at the breakfast and lunch place on his way to go skiing.
There's no rest as Sophy's restaurant moves to PCH site
By Greg Mellen, Staff Writer
10/31/2008
LONG BEACH - While a worker was banging away in the kitchen at Sophy's Fine Thai and Cambodian Cuisine on Anaheim Street, a crew of painters several blocks away was busy working on her new place.
And then there was the plumber - wait, where the heck's the plumber?
On Halloween afternoon, as the cooks and serving staff at the popular Cambodian restaurant waited for the dinner crowd to start arriving, Sophy Khut, the restaurant's owner and namesake, was in nonstop motion and dealing with inevitable devils that pop up in a quick move.
The popular eatery served its last meal Friday night. But fans will be happy to know that Sophy was planning to be open for dinner tonight at the new Sophy's, at 3240 E. Pacific Coast Highway.
For nearly eight years, Sophy's has been a mainstay for fans of authentic Cambodian and also Thai food. However, the landlord at the Anaheim Street site refused to renew the lease when it came up, forcing Sophy's to find a new home.
"We got lucky," says Chet Khut, Sophy's younger brother. "We didn't know where we were going to go."
One day Sophy was talking to a customer and learned that the owner of a site on PCH was looking for a tenant.
As Sophy sat at her restaurant in the 3700 block of Anaheim Street, all but one painting removed from the walls, she looked around wistfully.
"I'm sad, but I'm also excited," she said. "The sad part is I've been here for a long time and I started from scratch. This place gave me the opportunity to feel like I was able to do something successful in life."
For many members of the Cambodian community, Sophy's has also been like a small town hall where they gather and discuss issues.
Sophy opened the restaurant, then called Ruth's Country Kitchen, with $30,000 she cobbled together from family members. She moved into the cramped 1,200-square foot space on Jan. 1, 2001.
Chantha Bob, her longtime friend, had discovered the spot when he stopped for a cup of coffee at the breakfast and lunch place on his way to go skiing.
Sophy Khut watches workers get her new restaurant on Pacific Coast Highway ready for tonight's opening. (Jeff Gritchen / Staff Photographer)Sophy was living in Portland, Ore., at the time and managing a Japanese restaurant.
After seeing the place, Bob urged Sophy to come to Long Beach.
He has been with Sophy every step of the way.
"I was here the day it opened and the day it closed," Bob said.
Together Sophy and Bobby, as everyone calls Bob, reminisce about the early days.
"It was a long road, it was tough," Sophy says.
"We used to have a $1.99 special," Bobby says.
"And no one showed up," both say in unison, then laugh.
"I'd make $30 in sales and $100 in tips because customers felt sorry for me," Sophy says.
After nine months, Sophy changed the menu, adding Cambodian and Thai food to the selections and began serving dinner.
Sophy's is now a popular eatery that can be packed on weekends. It is not only a hangout for Cambodians, who appreciate the authenticity of the food, but the rest of the Long Beach community.
Waiting for a table won't likely be a challenge at the new space, which at 5,000-square feet is more than four times larger.
Another bonus will be parking. At the old space, Sophy's had only four spots and the landlord was infamous for calling tow trucks when patrons used unapproved spaces.
In addition to the expanded space, Sophy is planning a bigger menu with about 20 more dishes, including traditional amok, fish, chicken or lobster, with coconut milk and tumeric, often served in banana leaves, and Nam Ban Chok, a noodle dish that can be made in an array of ways.
With the new facilities, Sophy also will be able to host large parties and corporate functions, which wasn't possible at the old space.
They plan to wait a couple of weeks and settle in before announcing a grand opening."
Still, had it been up to Sophy, Bobby and Chet, they would have stayed at the old place.
"People just think we're moving because we're getting richer," Chet says. But that's not the case.
In fact, Bobby says he wishes there was enough money to allow Sophy's to close for a few days, if only to provide relief from the seeming round-the-clock work of operating one restaurant while opening another.
"I'd wish I had time to make it right," he says of the new space. "We can't afford to be even one day behind."
Stopping is not something that's in Sophy's blood.
After fleeing from the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia in 1975, hiking seven days and four without food, Sophy arrived in the United States as a 9-year-old in 1976.
Three days later she found work picking berries and has been working ever since.
And she is optimistic about the restaurant picking up where it left off.
"I have devoted customers and hopefully they'll follow me wherever I go," Sophy says.
Luckily, in this case, that's just about six or seven blocks.
greg.mellen@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1291
No comments:
Post a Comment