By Caleb Pershan
When a mainstay like Mission’s Sunflower Vietnamese Restaurant shuts its doors — even briefly — a pall is cast over the blogosphere.
The restaurant’s double Mission location, with busy, no frills storefronts on Valencia and 16th Streets, is exceedingly well-liked for its good food and cheap prices. But this week both entrances have been inexplicably shuttered, and its normcore website holds no updates.
A dearth of information and answers has led to wild online speculation. Is the closure permanent? (A sign and voicemail greeting say it is “temporary” and a commentor on MissionMission’s post claims that it’s closed for ADA compliance) Is rising rent the root cause? (How would we know when the Potrero Hill location gives us no comment?)
We all remember the Divis Popeye’s non-closure non-scandal… once burned, twice shy to freak out about this kind of thing. So until we know more, eaters are advised not to panic. Did we mention there is A SUNFLOWER POTRERO HILL LOCATION? (We did; there is.)
And yet while we wait with bated breath, it’s a moment to reaffirm our love for certain eccentric aspects of Sunflower, from excellent Imperial rolls to larger-than-life personalities.
Many commenters have singled out one of the establishment’s waiters, who for many years has famously turned on the charm for nice-looking male patrons. If you’ve been to Sunflower’s Valencia storefront, you’ll surely remember him.
“Young man” was his tag line (regardless of age or even gray hair) as in “Would you like a beer with that, young man?” Some have noted that the beer came gratis.
But who is this mysterious monsieur? Have you been “young manned” by him? Is he quoting Horace Greeley? Your thoughts and recollections in the comments.
[Via: SF Eater; image by Zachary Paradis via Flickr]
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