Amid rent increase, San Francisco's only fortune cookie factory faces uncertain future

San Francisco Mayor London Breed at the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory with co-owner Kevin Chan. San Francisco Mayor London Breed at the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory with co-owner Kevin Chan. Photo: Courtesy: Kevin Chan Photo: Courtesy: Kevin Chan Image 1 of / 13 Caption Close Amid rent increase, San Francisco's only fortune cookie factory faces uncertain future 1 / 13 Back to Gallery

For 57 years, tourists, schoolchildren and locals have squeezed into the small storefront of the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory for a free sample and a sight of nimble-fingered workers folding fortune cookies the old-fashioned way.

But the future is uncertain for the last remaining fortune cookie factory in San Francisco, which the city granted legacy business status in 2016. Facing frequent rent and wage increases and fewer visitors, co-owner Kevin Chan is unsure how long he'll be able to keep the company his mother co-founded in 1962 running.

"I'm worried about the future right now," Chan told SFGATE Tuesday. "I don't know what to do."

Chan said monthly rent for the tiny store on Ross Alley is "nearing $6,000." Three years ago, it was about $1,400. The BBC first reported the rent increases in a Monday story.

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"We're still alive because I can manage [the rent] right now," Chan said, but with the next lease renewal coming up in two or three years, it's not clear how long the business can stay afloat.

Besides the rent, Chan faces increased overhead costs in other areas of the business, including paying employees the city's mandated $15-an-hour minimum wage and the rising price of sugar and flour.

The factory — open seven days a week — produces up to 15,000 cookie products a day, all of which are made by hand by two to three part-time employees. Some nights, Chan and his mother work until 2 a.m. just to finish orders.

There's also the issue of factory-made cookies, which just don't taste the same.

"They've devalued the quality of the fortune cookie," Chan explained. Golden Gate's cookies are made from a secret recipe know only by Chan's mother. They're folded and baked on machinery dating back to 1952.

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Chan views the cookie factory as a business and museum, a place where visitors can come to learn about the history and people of Chinatown, a neighborhood that continues to undergo rapid change and gentrification.

Joining San Francisco's Legacy Business Program three years ago hasn't helped ease the pressure, Chan said. The program gives registered businesses grants of $500 per full-time employee each year, but Chan's employees work part-time. The city officially declared June 8 as "Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Company Day" last year.

"Being a legacy is no pride at all, because I don't get any benefits from it," he said. "I don't just want money. Promote me so I can stay alive."

With three antique machines, moving locations isn't an option, either. "Where could I move?" Chan asked. "Anywhere I'd go, it's the same price for rent."

Chan promised the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory isn't going anywhere just yet. Despite the changes the factory and its neighborhood have faced in recent years, Golden Gate's mission remains the same: Give folks a taste of real fortune cookies.

At the end of the day, "fortunes are supposed to make people happy," he said.

"My pride is to be open as long as I can. I don't want to disappoint."

Read Michelle Robertson's latest stories and send her news tips at mrobertson@sfgate.com.

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