The storied six-story landmark at 838 Grant Avenue, long known as the former home of the Empress of China restaurant, is set to become a new cultural anchor for San Francisco’s Chinatown. A coalition of nonprofit groups has agreed to buy the property and turn it into a public arts and history center, capping years of organizing by community activists who fought to keep the building in neighborhood control. According to multiple sources, the buyer is the Chinatown Media & Arts Collaborative (CMAC), which has been steadily building an arts network around Portsmouth Square.
The sale, reached according to reporting by The San Francisco Standard, covers the entire six-story property at 838 Grant Ave. The outlet reports that the sale price was not disclosed and that the site is tied to a conditional grant requiring it be used as a public cultural destination. The Standard also reports that the transfer brings to a close a nearly decade-long dispute with owner John Yee, who previously bought the building for roughly $17.25 million. CMAC declined to comment to the outlet, and the Standard notes that Yee could not be reached.
CMAC's Plan And Funding
CMAC plans to fold 838 Grant into its broader "Edge on the Square" initiative, linking it with other nearby properties and turning the building into a mix of exhibition space, artist studios and offices for nonprofit groups. The organization had already purchased the neighboring 800 Grant Ave. and in 2021 secured a major state allocation of about $26.5 million to acquire and develop that site, according to KQED. CMAC’s own website lays out the Edge on the Square concept and lists its board and staff as the group prepares for long-term programming and fundraising; see CMAC.
Restaurants And The Building's Past
The building’s most famous space, the top-floor banquet hall, got a high-profile revival in 2021 when it reopened as Empress by Boon, which preserved many of the classic Empress-era architectural features. A dim sum parlor returned to the neighborhood in 2023, bringing back another layer of the building’s dining legacy. The reopening of Empress by Boon was covered by SFGATE, while City View’s comeback was reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.
What Comes Next
The San Francisco Standard reports that CMAC will need to raise tens of millions of dollars to retrofit the Empress building and launch its planned cultural programming. For now, both Empress by Boon and the dim sum parlor are expected to stay open for at least the length of their existing leases, according to the outlet. “Being able to preserve this building for the community is not only a huge win for Chinatown but also for the Chinese American community,” former Assemblymember Phil Ting told the Standard. CMAC’s publicly listed leadership includes longtime civic figures such as Mabel Teng, Stephen Gong and Jay Xu, as noted on CMAC.
