From carrying on the family business to helping guide other entrepreneurs, Chelsea Hung is charming the San Francisco business community. Hung is the second-generation owner of Washington Bakery and Restaurant (WBR), located in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Prior to taking over the family business, she lived in New York and worked a tech job, but when her mom mentioned retiring and selling WBR, Hung felt called to return home to her Bay Area roots.

This year, Hung will also continue the legacy of her father’s Cantonese restaurant, R&G Lounge, as he prepares to retire as well. R&G Lounge opened in 1985 as a one-floor restaurant and eventually grew into to three floors. Its reputation is built on the excellent quality of the Chinese cuisine it offers, winning numerous awards and recognition.

Hung is an entrepreneur committed to the success of her family’s business, and to carrying on the legacy they began. Dive into her family’s heart-warming backstory and find out what advice she wants to share.

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Share the story of how your business started. How did the idea come about? What goals did you set out to accomplish?

My mom is from Hong Kong and since she was young, she wanted to open a small bakery cafe since her dad had a restaurant back in Hong Kong. During that time, there weren’t many HK style cafes in San Francisco. In 1995, my parents opened Washington Bakery & Restaurant (WBR) and my dad and uncles built it from the ground up. I’ve worked there since I was young. Some of the original employees that worked there for 10-20 years practically raised me, and I was blessed to eat there all the time. A few years ago, my mom wanted to retire and sell WBR. I thought she should retire, but I felt sad thinking about not having this meaningful place anymore. I lived in New York at the time and I left my job, packed my bags, and moved back to San Francisco to start this journey. I sacrificed my comfortable lifestyle and 9-5 tech job to work long hours every day. It’s like I came full circle, from working at tech companies that help entrepreneurs to being an entrepreneur myself.

As my parents prepare to retire, I feel it’s my responsibility to continue the family businesses. Both restaurants have so much history and so many new memories to be made. I saw how much my parents sacrificed to build these restaurants, and I want to honor them by continuing their legacy and support of the Chinatown community. As more businesses are closing in Chinatown, I realize that it’s up to our generation to pay it forward and continue the charm and grace in the community that we grew up in.

How have your business priorities and/or operations evolved?

Many businesses in Chinatown rely on tourism, and there was practically none that year. We innovated by providing contactless preferences, more delivery options, and eventually outdoor dining. WBR created meal kits to make some of our dishes at home, and R&G created dinner sets for delivery and pick-up. Sometimes when one door closes (literally), another door opens. We knew that food insecurity is a huge issue, especially during the pandemic, and we were fortunate to find opportunities to help our community, such as our partnership with meal programs that help restaurants re-hire their teams and stay open while providing meals for people with food insecurities. 

What role does your business play in your community?

Our restaurants and many other businesses in Chinatown are linked to a unique commercial ecosystem that helps make Chinatown a complete neighborhood. We purchase from local vendors, employ residents in the community, serve locals, and give back to the community. 

During the pandemic, we teamed up with a few local organizations to provide meals for essential workers, people with food insecurities, and Chinatown residents living in single room occupancies (SROs). This program fed more than 3,000 Chinatown SRO residents, and we were grateful to be part of it. Through another program, we also prepared, packaged, and delivered seven days of breakfast, lunch, and dinner to seniors with food insecurities.

What advice would you give to other women of color who are thinking about starting a business?

Being a female women of color entrepreneur is challenging, but also very rewarding. The role has provided me opportunities to grow out of my comfort zone and push my limits as well as more opportunities to support other businesses and help my community. There are no instructions on how to run your business as a WOC, you just have to start it and continue to do it, learn, improve, and build.

Where and how can people support your business?

Washington Bakery & Restaurant:

733 Washington St San Francisco, CA 94108

• www.wbrsf.com
• Instagram: @sfwashingtonbakery
• Facebook: /sfwashingtonbakery

R&G Lounge

631 Kearny St San Francisco, CA 94108

• www.rnglounge.com
• Instagram: @RandGlounge
• Facebook:  /RandGLoungeRestauarant