A longtime California restaurant has served its final meals, ending more than three decades of serving Filipino food to the South San Francisco community.
Ongpin Restaurant officially closed on August 16 after 32 years in business. The restaurant’s final day came as the city prepares to expand its fire department facilities on the property where Ongpin operated.
A 32-year run comes to an end
Located at 73 Camaritas Ave., Ongpin first opened in 1994 and became a familiar destination for Filipino families throughout the Peninsula. The restaurant was named after a historic street in Manila’s Chinatown.
The restaurant was known for traditional Filipino dishes including tocino, sinigang, chicken adobo, sisig, lumpia, kare kare, lechon, and crispy pata. Its popular all-you-can-eat weekend brunch buffet was another longtime draw.
Fire station expansion forces closure
The restaurant’s closure was not prompted by a decline in business. Instead, South San Francisco plans to use the property for an expanded fire department facility.
The city owns the lot where Ongpin operated and had been considering the project for several years. According to owner and manager Ludy Noguera, the family had known about the city’s plans for two to three years, although the owners and employees were officially informed of the impending closure less than two weeks before the restaurant’s final day.
The new fire station is expected to open September 1.
Sister restaurant remains open
Although Ongpin is gone, customers can still visit the owners’ nearby Filipino restaurant, Karilagan, at 1129 El Camino Real.
The owners also hope to employ some of Ongpin’s former workers at the sister restaurant. Noguera said there are no plans to reopen Ongpin at another location after an attempted relocation to Daly City fell through.
The closure marks the end of a 32-year chapter for a restaurant that became an important gathering place for the local Filipino community. For longtime customers and employees, Ongpin’s final day represented more than the loss of a restaurant—it marked the closing of a familiar piece of South San Francisco history.
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