{"id":8868,"date":"2026-09-10T16:38:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T16:38:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8868"},"modified":"2026-09-10T16:38:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T16:38:14","slug":"palo-alto-based-vietnamese-street-food-chain-expands-north","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8868","title":{"rendered":"Palo Alto-based Vietnamese street food chain expands north"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p>A fast-casual Vietnamese street food\u2013inspired restaurant is set to open its first North Bay restaurant Sept. 19 at Town Center Corte Madera, marking the Bay Area chain\u2019s ninth location.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8866\">More major delays for BART riders, as service closed near SFO<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The 2,401-square-foot Asian Box restaurant at 147 Corte Madera Town Center Drive, on the same side of the 440,000-square-foot open-air shopping center as Safeway, according to a Town Center leasing brochure.<\/p>\n<p>The eatery will occupy a former Veggie Grill space. The vegan restaurant chain opened there in January 2015, according to Marin Magazine, and closed in August 2023 among 12 shuttered sites. The chain in 2024 merged with Next Level Burger.<\/p>\n<p>Asian Box was founded in 2011 by chef Grace Nguyen, restaurateur Frank Klein and chef Chad Newton. The Corte Madera opening follows the company\u2019s recent launch at San Jos\u00e9 Mineta International Airport.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow more than ever, consumers are seeking highly personalized food offerings that are made fresh, authentic, and don\u2019t compromise on flavor,\u201d Nguyen said in an announcement. \u201cWith Asian Box\u2019s new opening in Corte Madera, I\u2019m excited to bring a healthy fast-casual option and authentic Vietnamese flavors from my own family\u2019s heritage to a new community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Palo Alto-based restaurant\u2019s made-to-order menu is 100% gluten-free and includes build-your-own boxes, signature boxes, pho, banh mi sandwiches, spring rolls, boba teas, beer and wine. Vegan and vegetarian options also are available.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8864\">Andy\u2019s Pet Shop \u2014 and its iconic sign \u2014 ready for a rebirth in San Jose<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Nguyen graduated from the California Culinary Academy and previously worked under chef Charles Phan as sous chef at Slanted Door and executive chef of Out the Door, according to Asian Box.<\/p>\n<p>CEO Chuck Imerson told Nation\u2019s Restaurant News in 2023 that the company had shifted toward slower expansion after opening seven locations from late 2016 through mid-2020.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re not in a race,\u201d Imerson said at the time.<\/p>\n<p>A ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Sept. 18. The restaurant opens the following morning at 11 a.m., with tote bags for the first 100 guests.<\/p>\n<p>Regular hours will be 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.<\/p>\n<p><em>Jeff Quackenbush joined North Bay Business Journal in May 1999. Reach him at jeff@nbbj.news or 707-521-4256.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8856\">Sam\u2019s Club dispute ends with driver shot in front of his family<\/a><\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CEO Chuck Imerson said the company has shifted toward slower expansion after opening seven locations from late 2016 through mid-2020.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8867,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-things-to-do"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Palo Alto-based Vietnamese street food chain expands north - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8868\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Palo Alto-based Vietnamese street food chain expands north - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"CEO Chuck Imerson said the company has shifted toward slower expansion after opening seven locations from late 2016 through mid-2020.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8868\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-09-10T16:38:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8868#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8868\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"Palo Alto-based Vietnamese street food chain expands north\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-10T16:38:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8868\"},\"wordCount\":402,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8868#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/de304bf17c3f57f5f3da7a1c15cabbdf.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Things To Do\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8868#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8868\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8868\",\"name\":\"Palo Alto-based Vietnamese street food chain expands north - Next City Digest\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8868#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8868#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/de304bf17c3f57f5f3da7a1c15cabbdf.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-10T16:38:14+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8868#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8868\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8868#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/de304bf17c3f57f5f3da7a1c15cabbdf.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/de304bf17c3f57f5f3da7a1c15cabbdf.webp\",\"width\":1084,\"height\":724},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=8868#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Palo Alto-based Vietnamese street food chain expands north\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Next City Digest\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Palo Alto-based Vietnamese street food chain expands north - Next City Digest","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8868","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Palo Alto-based Vietnamese street food chain expands north - Next City Digest","og_description":"CEO Chuck Imerson said the company has shifted toward slower expansion after opening seven locations from late 2016 through mid-2020.","og_url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8868","og_site_name":"Next City Digest","article_published_time":"2026-09-10T16:38:14+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8868#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8868"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"headline":"Palo Alto-based Vietnamese street food chain expands north","datePublished":"2026-09-10T16:38:14+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8868"},"wordCount":402,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8868#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/de304bf17c3f57f5f3da7a1c15cabbdf.webp","articleSection":["Things To Do"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8868#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8868","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8868","name":"Palo Alto-based Vietnamese street food chain expands north - Next City Digest","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8868#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8868#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/de304bf17c3f57f5f3da7a1c15cabbdf.webp","datePublished":"2026-09-10T16:38:14+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8868#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8868"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8868#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/de304bf17c3f57f5f3da7a1c15cabbdf.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/de304bf17c3f57f5f3da7a1c15cabbdf.webp","width":1084,"height":724},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=8868#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Palo Alto-based Vietnamese street food chain expands north"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/","name":"Next City Digest","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/nextcitydigest.com"],"url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8868","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8868"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8868\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}