San Antonio’s Three Amigos Chinese Food reopens after fire

After an electrical fire damaged its property in June of last year, West Side hole-in-the-wall Three Amigos Chinese Food finally began serving customers again Wednesday.

Over its many years in business, the cafeteria-style dining spot at 303 NW 36th St. developed a devoted following for its pineapple chicken, generous portions and low prices. On any given day, a long line of customers would amass to wait for its doors to open.

Maryjane Aguilar, one of many diners queued up in the hot sun for Wednesday’s reopening, said she’s waited up to an hour for Three Amigos’ food in the past. Aguilar said it’s always worth it — she’s been eating there since she was 5.

“No one does noodles like them,” Aguilar said, adding that whenever she got sick, her dad would bring her the restaurant’s mushroom soup.
After last year’s fire forced Three Amigos’ closure, customer Janette “Saraii” Menendez set up a crowdfunding campaign to help with construction costs. The business’s ceiling had caved in during the fire, and it needed to replace all its electrical work, according to Menendez’s Facebook announcement.

Though earlier media reports have said the restaurant is run by a Vietnamese married couple, the owners are actually brother- and sister-in-law. Owner Phuong Kim Tran and her brother-in-law Minh Lam originally opened the spot decades ago as a grocery store but began serving up Chinese food in the 1990s.

The hybrid business still doubles as a small convenience store, selling cigarettes, sodas, scratch-off tickets and beer. Once upon a time, it even cashed checks. Often, the line inside snakes through rows of candy and Spam while people wait patiently for their holy-grail noodles.

Through the years, Tran and Lam have seen it all, said long-time customer Sandra Allihyani, a friend of Tran’s. “She’s a strong lady,” Allihyani said, adding that the pair have braved robberies at gunpoint, and Lam was even shot in the chest during a 2013 stickup.

Allihyani, who was first in line for Wednesday’s grand reopening, was also the last customer served the night of the fire. Indeed, she called 9-1-1 after her kids noticed smoke emanating from the building.

“We were here until 3 in the morning,” Allihyani said. “The fire was in the walls and the floor. Everything got burned.”

Like many in Wednesday morning’s growing line, Allihyani lives in the Pan American Apartments across Fortuna Street, which provide a steady customer base for the restaurant. Some saw the grand re-opening sign yesterday and decided to brave the line for a chance to get the noodles they had missed for so long.

This isn’t the first time Three Amigos closed due to unforeseen circumstances. The COVID-19 pandemic forced it to shut down in 2021, and it remained so for 16 months. At the time, there were even rumors Tran had died, though she was just staying with family in Vietnam.

The 2023 fire was a devastating setback after what was supposed to be a triumphant return. But now, the restaurant has a new lease on life, according to its owners.

“We are very excited,” said Lam, smiling broadly. “And we see some friends, so we will be happy.”

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This article appears in Sep 18-24, 2024.