The incoming restaurant trio will be located on Fairfax St. in Denver, CO 80207, according to business documents filed by Yuan Wonton founder Penelope Wong. While a definitive debut date has not yet been determined, an Instagram caption posted to the Yuan Wonton page hinted at a launch later this year.
Wong’s culinary journey began in 1989 as a dishwasher in her parent’s kitchen. From there, Wong worked her way up from busser to hostess, hostess to cashier, and cashier to cook. She landed her first professional cooking gig in 1998 at Glenmoor Country Club with only her humble beginnings and some cooking-show knowledge under her belt.
Wong recalls, “I was promoted to sous chef within two years, served as interim chef twice, and became the executive chef four years later as the youngest and first female chef since the club opened in 1985. [I then served as ] executive chef from 2004-2018 and proudly showcased my Chinese/Thai background fused with contemporary American cuisine.”
Years later, Wong and her husband would begin a new culinary venture, opening their own dumpling food truck in the metro area. That truck is called Yuan Wonton.
Additionally, the Pho King Rapidos food truck was created by Long Nguyen and Shauna Seaman – a husband and wife who were born and raised in Colorado. The PKR website recounts, “[we] grew up on Vietnamese food and plenty of other ethnic influences that shaped our appetite. Moving to NYC exposed us to a multitude of cultures that only expanded our palettes, ultimately igniting a craving to provide delicious food and great hospitality to those around us.”
Sweets & Sourdough is co-owned by Amy Patterson and has provided the community with “artisan, non-GMO, made-from-scratch baked goods” since 2017. The women-owned, wholesale bread bakery… cater[s] to high-end Denver restaurants,” according to an interview with Patterson for The NoCo Optimist.
Project renderings posted to the Yuan Wonton Instagram were captioned, “as small and local businesses, we are working on a new venture, a new SPACE, and a more permanent collaboration to create something unique and truly special to share with all of you. We are working to help one another grow, and stay small.”
Article has been edited to include a What Now Denver interview with Yuan Wonton owner Penelope Wong:
WND: Can you tell us when you’ll launch?
PW: We’re hoping for fall 2022, but also anticipating permitting delays.
WND: Can you tell us more specifically where the collective will be located?
PW: We’ll be located in Park Hill.
WND: What brought about this desire to A) band together and B) covert to brick-and-mortar?
PW: We’ve always said that we would never open a restaurant (we, as in Yuan Wonton), but when this opportunity came about, I knew that this would allow us to grow our business to the next level while remaining small.
WND: What can customers expect from this collaboration? Will there be menu expansions? changes?
PW: This collaboration is the culmination of shared viewpoints across the board and the idea that remaining a small business is as important to the integrity and quality of our finished product.
Our food is the intent to relay nostalgia and our profound appreciation for where we came from, our unique expression on the traditional, as well as a true creation of what is important to us. There will be collaboration events, there will be collaborative menu items as well as menu expansion overall that the additional workspace will finally allow us to do.
WND: What are your guys’ hopes for the new, fused establishment?
PW: I think the hope for anyone going into this type of venture is pretty much assumed — to not fail [laughs], but one really important goal is to hopefully provide new insight into what industry life could mean for cooks/bakers where a true work-life balance actually exists.
