For 21 years, a small Vietnamese restaurant on 97 Street was where a family made its living, where its kids grew up, and where north Edmonton came for pho.
Now Pho Song Huong has closed for good.
The family-run restaurant at 12929 97 Street NW shut its doors in late September, ending a run that started in 2005. The family announced it in a post to their regulars.
"In case you haven't been in over the last two weeks… it's official: we are closed and my mom is retiring."
It already said goodbye once
Regulars have been here before.
In December 2025, Pho Song Huong announced it was closing because it couldn't renew its lease.
Then the landlord had a change of heart. A new lease was signed, and the restaurant reopened on March 1, 2026.
That gave customers seven more months. The family says they weren't easy ones.
"It's been a tough return since reopening in March," they wrote. "We tried to sell our recipes and name but were not successful, so we've decided to leave the business."
A quiet last day
There was no farewell weekend, and the family explained why.
The owner's father died shortly before the closing, and she travelled to Vietnam.
"We closed quietly because we didn't have the capacity to manage much more at this time," they wrote.
That's why some regulars may have shown up recently to find the doors locked.
The kids who grew up in the restaurant
"Our family has grown up with this restaurant, and it is because of our awesome regulars that we have been able to make it to today," the family wrote.
Then they shared where everyone has landed.
The owner is retiring, "and now promoted to grandma life."
A cousin graduated from nursing school and is working as a nurse.
The owner's daughters all finished post-secondary and have jobs.
Another family member is on his way to becoming a pharmacist.
Dad still does landscaping in the summer, and is now retired for the winter.
Two decades of pho on 97 Street
Pho Song Huong was never a trendy downtown spot. It spent 21 years in the same north Edmonton location, feeding the same neighbourhood.
The menu ran deep: rare beef pho, pho satay, vermicelli bowls, spring rolls, green onion cakes, and bánh lọc, tapioca dumplings. The house special, the Pho Song Huong Dac Biet, came loaded with beef, shank, tendon, beef balls and tripe.
Miss the food? Head south
The family has a tip for anyone who'll miss the menu.
Relatives run Pho Thanh, at 3438 99 Street NW in south Edmonton. It has the satay and chicken dishes Pho Song Huong regulars loved.
"Closest thing to our menu you will find is there at their restaurant!!" the family wrote. "And it might even be better than ours, so check them out if you miss us!"
A new restaurant in the space
Pho Queen Royal, a new Vietnamese restaurant with different owners and no connection to the family, opened in the space on Oct. 1.
The family is cheering them on. "I will definitely be coming to try their food, and I hope you will too," they wrote. "The new people are quite sweet and I am excited for them."
Maybe one more meal
The family doesn't think the owner will stay out of the kitchen long.
"I am thinking my mom will get bored and miss everyone," they wrote. The idea: cooking classes at the family's home, with regulars invited to learn some recipes and catch up over a meal.
They ended with a thank-you to the neighbourhood that kept them going.
"THANK YOU NORTHSIDE EDMONTON! We will miss you and it has been nothing but our pleasure serving you all these years."
Pho Song Huong Vietnamese Restaurant, 2005 to 2026.
Sources
Pho Song Huong, farewell post, Instagram, September 2026
Pho Song Huong Vietnamese Restaurant, menu
Pho Thanh Restaurant
The December 2025 closure announcement and March reopening as reported by Only Here for the Food.
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