Since its opening in 2016, Glen Park’s popular One Waan Thai Restaurant has become a neighborhood fixture. As owner Alex Phanupong Prasertsith, a Bangkok native, promised the Glen Park News that year, the menu has continued to expand.
He has also experienced challenges familiar to other San Francisco restaurateurs as the city makes its long, slow recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We did relatively well during the pandemic,” Alex recalled. “We had a lot of support from the neighborhood. One Waan is one of the city’s few authentic Thai restaurants and very close to BART.”
In 2020, forced to comply with social distancing protocols, One Waan quickly shifted much of its business to third-party delivery services. Today he says that online orders account for 50% of his business. One Waan’s dine-in customers comprise 35% and takeout about 15%.
“We have many loyal customers in Glen Park,” Alex added, “and we treat them like family. We keep seeing them even after they move away.”
Alex said that it is sad to see so many customers leaving Glen Park. In fact, the neighborhood’s churning population has proven to be a major challenge. In this post-pandemic era, he said One Waan is fighting an uphill battle.
Like many restaurateurs in Glen Park, Alex wonders what is happening to his customer base. The city definitely lost population in the first two years of the pandemic. Latest figures from the San Francisco Chronicle suggest that outward migration has slowed or leveled off.
Although many San Franciscans are reportedly working at home, Alex said he hasn’t been seeing many of them at lunchtime. Recently, he decided to open only from 4:30 PM to 8:40 PM, Monday through Saturday.
“We love our customers. They love us. More people need to know about Glen Park…and its wonderful Thai restaurant.”
