Pho Van Owner Henry Cao Demolishes Peking North for a 6,500-Square-Foot Restaurant

Henry Cao, owner of Pho Van, has demolished the Peking North Chinese Restaurant building at 4120 N. Division St. and plans to replace it with a new Pho Van, after buying the business for $1.2 million. Yahoo reported the demolition and the construction plans.

Henry Cao's New Pho Van Building

Peking North closed for good in March 2025, when its owners retired and sold the business to Cao. Cao, 54, owns Pho Van about a mile north at 2909 N. Division St., a roughly 2,500-square-foot space that seats 85 guests, according to Rich Veltri, a commercial sales and estimating specialist at Hug Construction.

The building Hug Construction is preparing to construct in the old footprint is about 6,500 square feet and can accommodate 240 to 250 patrons. Overman Construction handled the demolition, and Russell Page Architects designed the new building, which is expected to be finished by late 2027.

Veltri said the project remains in the permitting process because of issues with the existing building. The former Peking North building was roughly 9,600 square feet and could hold over 400 occupants, and Veltri said its size triggered city requirements, including fire sprinklers that would have required structural re-engineering at a cost to Cao of at least $200,000.

"We were going to actually utilize probably 65% of the old building, and then we just ran into some issues with the city and engineering, and we just ran into hiccup after hiccup," Veltri said. "So we regrouped, Henry and I and Russ, the architect, and we just decided that we'd be better off to demo the building and start over."

Cao said he plans to introduce five to seven new dishes at the new location. Veltri said construction will cost Cao roughly $1.7 million. "I'll get my money back in 200 years," Cao said.

Pho Van's Beaverton Restaurant Records

Company records show Pho Van as a family-owned Vietnamese restaurant founded in 1992 in Beaverton, Oregon, serving pho, noodle soups, rice and vermicelli entrées, and appetizers through dine-in, pickup, online ordering and catering, according to akta.pro company records. The same records list a headcount range of 11 to 50 and a revenue estimate of $1 million-$5 million.

Other Construction Projects in the Sector

Yahoo reported on November 12 that Mattel's planned indoor amusement park in Arizona has no confirmed opening date after delays and a construction-site death. Building reported the same day that the consortium behind Cardiff Arena is taking over construction of the £280m venue after contractor McLaren left the job, with completion scheduled for 2028.

Pho Van's Late 2027 Target

The new Pho Van building is expected to be finished by late 2027, and the project remains in the permitting process.