How a Broadway Chinese restaurant lasts 86 years
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Father and son working together at Hung Fong. Photo: Megan Stringer/Axios
When KA Huey opened Hung Fong Chinese Restaurant on Broadway in 1939, the area was far enough from downtown to be less expensive. More than 85 years later, it's in the thick of San Antonio's growing — and increasingly costly — urban center.
The big picture: Kenneth Huey's great grandfather opened Hung Fong with a business partner. At that time, Hildebrand Avenue was the northern boundary of the city limits.
- "We are the only survivor on Broadway," Kenneth's father, Maury Maverick Huey Jr., tells Axios. Other popular restaurants — like Christie's Seafood, where a Whataburger now sits — have closed over the years.
Flashback: Workers from the former AT&T building on Broadway were many of the restaurant's longtime customers.
- Others would stop for lunch after buying a car at one of the many dealerships that used to line the street. Maury says if they had money for a car, they had money to celebrate with lunch.
Zoom in: Despite the changes, Hung Fong has always had a lunch crowd, Kenneth and Maury tell Axios. On a recent Friday afternoon, it was packed with city employees, CPS Energy workers and families with kids.
- Some customers have been eating there for more than 50 years. Families celebrate milestones at the restaurant.
- But the customer demographic has changed, Maury says, as companies moved offices from downtown to the North Side.
One thing that brought in a new crowd recently — some TikTok attention that took Kenneth by surprise.
- Many younger customers know the restaurant because they grew up going there. But now, a new generation is discovering it online as they seek comfort and nostalgia.
State of play: There are challenges to keeping a restaurant running after eight decades. Property taxes have risen and sky-high egg prices aren't easy to stomach at a Chinese restaurant where people love the egg drop soup.
- It's difficult to raise menu prices enough to compensate for the cost increases, Kenneth says, when part of what they're known for is reasonably priced meals.
- But the Hueys think it's their old-school charm and nostalgia — and plain and simple good food — that have kept the restaurant going strong over the years.
What they're saying: Broadway isn't the busiest place to be anymore, Kenneth and Maury say. Their sister restaurant (Ding How, near the Medical Center) sees more traffic and cars passing by.
- "But Broadway is always gonna be one of the central streets in San Antonio, especially with the Pearl down the street," Kenneth says. "Broadway is not gonna go anywhere."
Read the accompanying article: What I learned on a long walk up Broadway