Pho on streets
May. 5th, 2026 06:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sniffnoySo I a few months ago I noticed that on John St there is now a pho restaurant called "Pho John St". By itself, there's nothing particularly noteworthy there -- it's a pho restaurant with a straightforward name. OK.
But then a few weeks ago I noticed that there's now also -- one block over on Fulton St -- a second one, called "Pho Fulton". I say "a second one"; I haven't been inside and checked a menu or anything, but it has, like, the same font, the same graphic design, so I assume it's a chain. Odd to put two of them that close together -- they're like 2 blocks apart total -- but OK.
But then the other day I noticed there's one on Maiden Lane as well! Called, yes, "Pho Maiden Lane". Three of them, all on adjacent parallel streets, none more than around 2 blocks apart?? Why does a chain of pho restaurants need three locations so closely spaced??
At this point I started wondering -- is this a bigger chain? Are there more of these? I'd never seen this anywhere else in the city. Are they just everywhere and I hadn't noticed? Well, unfortunately, they don't seem to have a website where I could check a list of locations. But applying Google Maps to the problem, I found what appears to be one more -- "Pho Broadway", on the upper west side (yes, on Broadway). I wonder if that one's the original, seeing as "Pho Broadway" is the best standalone name of the four.
If those four are really all, what a weird distribution of locations! One on the upper west side, and *three* close together in FiDi? I have no idea what the reason for this could be. I wonder if I go and ask someone will be able to answer...?
But then a few weeks ago I noticed that there's now also -- one block over on Fulton St -- a second one, called "Pho Fulton". I say "a second one"; I haven't been inside and checked a menu or anything, but it has, like, the same font, the same graphic design, so I assume it's a chain. Odd to put two of them that close together -- they're like 2 blocks apart total -- but OK.
But then the other day I noticed there's one on Maiden Lane as well! Called, yes, "Pho Maiden Lane". Three of them, all on adjacent parallel streets, none more than around 2 blocks apart?? Why does a chain of pho restaurants need three locations so closely spaced??
At this point I started wondering -- is this a bigger chain? Are there more of these? I'd never seen this anywhere else in the city. Are they just everywhere and I hadn't noticed? Well, unfortunately, they don't seem to have a website where I could check a list of locations. But applying Google Maps to the problem, I found what appears to be one more -- "Pho Broadway", on the upper west side (yes, on Broadway). I wonder if that one's the original, seeing as "Pho Broadway" is the best standalone name of the four.
If those four are really all, what a weird distribution of locations! One on the upper west side, and *three* close together in FiDi? I have no idea what the reason for this could be. I wonder if I go and ask someone will be able to answer...?
