Legendary New York City tea house and dim sum brand Nom Wah has a long history, one that began more than 100 years ago, in the New York City of 1920.
“Nom Wah’s first location was not always about dim sum,” says the brand’s website. “The original restaurant opened as a tea parlor and bakery in 1920 at 13-15 Doyers St., located in what was nicknamed the ‘Bloody Angle.’ The nickname stems from the street’s sharp corner and warring gangs who took advantage of this.”
Whoa! Fortunately that’s not the end of the story: Nom Wah pressed on for decades as a tea parlor and bakery, adding dim sum as a kind of secondary feature.
“Several years after Wilson Tang took over the restaurant from his uncle, Wally, he looked to expand the Nom Wah brand. In March 2015, Nom Wah opened its Philadelphia location at the edge of the city’s Chinatown. The menu has some differences: riffs on Chinese-American classics and rotating Cantonese favorites.”
Now, the brand may be planning an expansion in Las Vegas.
Last week, What Now came across a trove of licensing documents submitted to the City of Las Vegas for six different restaurants: Ai Pazzi Pizza, For the Win, Pearls Oyster Bar, Tacos 1986, Wineaux, and, indeed, Nom Wah. All of these are to open in the Rampart Casino at the Resort at Summerlin.
What Now reached out to Wilson Tang on Thursday to eask about plans for a Las Vegas Nom Wah. Tang was not immediately available to comment on the news. We’ll have to stay on the lookout for more details.
In the meantime, you can keep up with all things Nom Wah by following @nomwah on Instagram.
