An Adorable Vietnamese Cafe Is Taking Over the Former Queens Space in the Inner Sunset

Meegan Nguyen was devasted when her bosses Eddo and Clara Kim told her they’d be closing their upscale Korean bodega Queens on Ninth Avenue. It was only her weekend job — she’s a full-time graphic designer — but it was an inspiration, the kind of place she wanted to open herself someday. She told her partner Linh Dan Le, a videographer she met while studying at San Francisco State University, and the two pitched to the Queens owners their idea: the Open Book Project.

Now, the former Queens space is back in action. The duo are running a menu of Vietnamese American coffee drinks and snacks, and, yes, lots of books. The front counter has been transformed into a coffee bar with full pour-over and phin gear, plus pastries from the Petite Sweets, which is run by friends of Nguyen and Le, and Jane the Bakery. Wine, such as Sammay Negre and Rosso Ranco Matto, now stand for sale next to friend’s art pieces and a lending library of community-sourced books, zines, and DVDs. The pop-up will run through November when Nguyen and Le plan to return to Vietnam for a month of travel. “This space has a certain inviting energy,” Nguyen says. “I would have never guessed Queens would close, so this opportunity just presented itself.”

Creating the menu — written in the style of a screenplay — happened slowly then all at once, tinkering over the years on items they hoped to serve at their own cafe one day before kicking into overdrive when Queens announced its closure at the end of May. Nguyen and Le shipped versions of the pandan cold brew to friends for trials, tucking in garlic-roasted peanuts and blueberry polenta cake. Tinned fish, a major trend in the food world, is also very Vietnamese, the two say. Egg coffee is on the way once the recipe is dialed in, but Le is particularly proud of her phin technique in the meantime. Pour-over coffee comes courtesy of Vietnamese roaster Sey out of Brooklyn, but the phin coffee is robusta, one of Vietnam’s major exports to make a nod to their home country.

Wines from all over the world are available by the glass, and Shortcut, the prepared food offshoot of Queens, is still operational in the back of the space for takeout.

Paolo Bicchieri

Paolo Bicchieri

Paolo Bicchieri

Paolo Bicchieri

The couple want their enterprise to redistribute the fortune they feel they’ve found in their San Francisco communities. They’d like to host events, such as a watch party for the Women’s World Cup — even though they laugh talking about the odds of their home country’s team winning against the United States. They want to develop a better system for bringing in books — currently a bright red box outside works as a drop-off center — and sharing them outside the shop. And Tuesdays operated on a pay what you wish scale. “It might be the thing that encourages someone to try a weird shop like ours,” Le says. “We want to survive, but we also want people to relax and not have to worry.”

When the two met at SFSU almost five years ago, Le was studying film and Nguyen took classes in design. They bonded over their shared Vietnamese American culture and love of theory and art. Nguyen started working at Queens in December 2022, gathering ideas for a space she may run in Vietnam someday with Le. The owners of Queens are still helping, as they’ve allowed Open Book Project to share the space and avoid expensive start-up costs. Since neither Le nor Nguyen is a former bartender or barista, they’re giving it their all to keep up. “It’s a rollercoaster, man,” Nguyen says.

Open Book Project (1235 9th Avenue) is open Thursday through Monday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m., and Tuesdays 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Paolo Bicchieri

Paolo Bicchieri

Paolo Bicchieri

Paolo Bicchieri