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The Team Behind Burma Superstar Is Opening a New Restaurant in Hayes Valley

Teakwood, a new concept from the Burmese restaurant chain, will take over the former Akna space

Lauren Saria is the editor of Eater SF and has been writing about food, drinks, and restaurants for more than a decade.

The folks behind popular Burmese restaurants Burma Superstar in the Richmond District, Oakland, and Alameda, and mini-chain Burma Love, which has locations in the Mission and downtown, have a new project in the works. A spokesperson for the company shares that a new restaurant called Teakwood will open on the corner of Grove and Gough streets this spring. The Burma Food Group team is working with Studio KDA Design to renovate the space.

Menu details remain scarce, but a press release promises fans can expect not only the restaurant chain’s well-loved tea leaf salad, but also new dishes that “highlight the flavor influences of neighboring countries such as Thailand, China, and India.” A spokesperson goes on to say the new restaurant’s menu will nod to Burmese culinary traditions while also pulling from other cultures and showcasing local ingredients.

Teakwood will serve both lunch and dinner, on top of offering happy hour — though that will likely launch after the opening. There will be a full bar with drinks designed to pair with the “fresh, tart, and spiced” flavors associated with the restaurant group’s menus, per the release. The cocktail menu will specifically use smoke to complement the food, including the wine selections, which will include a number of volcanic varietals.

In 2016, a group of current and former employees sued the Bay Area restaurant group alleging the company had not been properly compensating workers including by “stiffing them on wages, overtime, paid breaks, and sick days,” Eater SF reported at the time. In a class-action lawsuit settlement, workers were eventually awarded $1.3 million, though the company told the San Francisco Chronicle in 2020 it “strongly disagreed with the allegations in the class-action lawsuit” but “settled the lawsuit in order to move on.”