This 37 Year Old Thai Restaurant is in Danger of Closing Down

Thirty-seven years is a long time to do anything, but to survive as a restaurant in San Francisco that long is truly an incredible feat. And while Manora’s Thai Cuisine at Folsom and 12th Sts. has managed to do that, it might not make it to its 38th year.

“My checking account is really low,” Manora Srisopa tells me as we sit in her restaurant. Her goal is to make it to the end of the year, but she’s not sure she can. “PG&E bill, water, internet, food costs, minimum wage, everything has gone up. Everything except people.”

I’ve got a personal reason for wanting to see Manora’s Thai survive; their pad thai, fresh mint rolls, and panaeng-sam-ros are some of my favorite dishes in San Francisco. But I also want this restaurant to keep going because it’s exactly the kind of place that makes this city special.

Photo of the panang beef and grilled pork two item lunch combo. Their lunch deals are killer. Photo by Donny P. on Yelp.

First of all, how many Thai restaurants have you been to that play the Grateful Dead? For me, it’s just Manora’s. That’s because Gong, one of the servers is a huge Deadhead.

And Gong is just one of the incredible staff members there. In fact most of the team has been with Manora since 1985 when she and her mother had another restaurant, also called Manora’s Thai, at 29th and Valencia Sts. Yes, you read that right, since 1985! It really says something about a business, especially a restaurant, when your workers have been with you for nearly 40 years.

Manora and some of the staff. Photo from their website.

Manora came to the San Francisco from Thailand in 1976 when she was 16. When she finished high school she went to City College and eventually joined her mother to create the first incarnation of the restaurant. Eventually she met her husband who she opened this restaurant with and who was the chef until he recently retired “But he still makes all the sauces and stuff,” Manora tells me.

Part of the reason the restaurant has been able to make it this long in SF is the fact that she owns the building. Above the restaurant are four units; she and her husband live in one, her sister lives in another, and then there are renters in the two other units. “It’s like a family,” Manora explains, “I haven’t raised the rent in 20 years.”

See what I mean when I say this is exactly the kind of business we need to support in San Francisco?

Manora herself when we sat down and talked about her restaurant.

Manora attributes the decline in business to a number of things. One is the fact that the nightlife in the area has died down. In the 80s and 90s there was a huge bar and club scene in the neighborhood and people would be out and about till the wee hours of the morning. While there still is some nightlife, it’s not nearly like it used to be.

Then there’s also the pandemic and the fallout from it. Manor’s Thai Cuisine has a great and affordable lunch menu, so before COVID, they did brisk afternoon business due to all the companies in the area. But since work from home gained such prevalence, many of those folks don’t have to come to the neighborhood anymore. On top of that, the business next door (Monkeybrains internet service), and the one across the street (the lighting showroom City Lights), have both moved to other parts of the city. So now there are even fewer lunchtime customers.

So it’s up to people like us to help keep this excellent local business afloat. Stop in to Manora’s Thai Cuisine for lunch or dinner soon. You’ll not only get a delicious meal, you’ll also be helping really great people, who run a wonderful business, survive.

Find out what hours they are open on their website.