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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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?
