Pacific East Mall sold to New York Investor group

Regional Dining Discussions SF Bay Area + NorCal
#1

No changes as of yet, just a property sale. I was interested to learn it had been open since 1998.
It sounds like it is operated by a separate group, Pacific Infinity, which has 35 years remaining on their lease.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/richmond/ci_29380647/richmond-investor-group-buys-pacific-east-mall

I’ll tack on the unfortunate note by Ridge, about Thai takeout favorite Ran Kanom in the complex, indicating that it is boarded up with a padlock. http://www.chowhound.com/post/ran-kanom-1030622
I’d inquired previously about erratic hours, but it looks like the place might be gone for good.

#2

NOOOOOOOOOOO!

As I was reading your note I was thinking to myself, ownership change, alright… as long as Ran Kanom is there, all is well. This is terrible news.

Any idea why? Not enough business?

#3

It seems like none of us know. I suspect it wasn’t purely financial. I probably get to Pacific East about once per month and noticed it was frequently closed on weekday evenings, before posted closing. Checking yalp, others seemed to have the same experience, and more frequently as time wore on. I hope she resurfaces!

#4

There is no justice in this world.

#5

Hm. Right now they said no major changes. I just hope in the long run they keep a similar focus. I certainly wonder how some of those shops stay in business but I love having the quirky, one-off Asian shops and restaurants there.

#6

The newspapers have rumors about a huge development going in back of the Mall between it and Central.

#7

Perhaps some good news–
I was in the neighborhood this afternoon and stopped by the Mall. There was some action inside Ran Kanom and two people, neither of which was the chef I usually see. When I asked if Ran Kanom was going to re-open the guy inside said they were trying to be open by next week. They wanted to offer more variety–mostly in the dry goods/ingredient side. I hope it is the same chef.

#8

Ran Kanom will be open again starting this Friday!

Accessing the mall from Central is a nightmare, and only should be done if you’re coming off of 80.If you’re coming from San Pablo, take a shortcut through the residential neighborhood to the malls West and enter on San Jose Ave.

#9

Is Chef Ekchit still cooking? Do you know why they closed?

#10

I didn’t think to ask! it look like they were in the process of restocking. The guy who works there said that they will be having The foods both of Thailand and Laos and that there will be some free samples, I think next weekend

#11

With Ran Kanom under new ownership, was hoping that chef Ekchit will reopen somewhere in the Bay Area. But it looks like that’s not meant to be.

If this is the same chef Ekchit (looks certainly like the same person), she has moved to SoCal in Imperial County. What a loss for the Bay Area. Thankful for the wonderful food at Ran Kanoms. Best of luck to the chef.

https://www.facebook.com/salalinee.ekchit

#12

There is a very slight bit of hope in that social media frequently changes El Cerrito to El Centro.

#13

I heard that new Lao owners have taken over, and that it is worthy for a try. Probably the focus on organic and high-quality ingredients may have slipped, unfortunately. It’s on my short list to check out. Ekchit had catered a holiday event for me which was great, so sad to hear this. It was a must to pick up takeout when I was shopping there. I wonder if this is fallout from stretching finances too thin with the two locations?

#14

I think with that price point at the old Ran Kanom, it would have been difficult with high quality ingredients unless there is a lot of volume.

“Food is a pretty good prism through which to view humanity.”

― Jonathan Gold