Amid a dark period for numerous downtown-area San Francisco restaurants, chef Steven Pham closed his SoMa neighborhood Turtle Tower — the last of four Vietnamese cuisine restaurants that he once owned — nearly two years ago.

“It was a terrible time,” said Pham, 67, who immigrated to The City with his wife and two young daughters in 1991 after fleeing communist Vietnam via Hong Kong.

But Pham and two partners triumphantly opened a brand new Turtle Tower at 220 California St. in the heart of the Financial District in March. Lunchtime lines of people seeking Pham’s North Vietnamese-style pho (soup) have once again become a regular occurrence, especially midweek.

“I feel good. People are welcoming and coming back,” said Pham, a 25-year San Francisco restaurateur with a devoted clientele. “I

See Full Page