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The Finest

The story of Lucky Wong and his legendary one-man diner in San Diego

 August 21, 2025 at 5:00 AM PDT
By Julia Dixon Evans,  Anthony Wallace
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At the heart of Lucky’s Breakfast was Lucky Wong himself, shown here in a collage of memories with family, friends, customers and even a four-legged diner companion. Clockwise from top left: Lucky with Matt Lyons, daughter June Wong, Ruth Kramer and her sister, a dog friend, Colleen Haynes and Jerry Rickett with his family.
Photos courtesy of June Wong, Ruth Kramer, Colleen Haynes and Jerry Rickett
At the heart of Lucky’s Breakfast was Lucky Wong himself, shown here in a collage of memories with family, friends, customers and even a four-legged diner companion. Clockwise from top left: Lucky with Matt Lyons, daughter June Wong, Ruth Kramer and her sister, a dog friend, Colleen Haynes and Jerry Rickett with his family.
A classic breakfast plate at Lucky's Golden Phenix in North Park, featuring hash browns, an omelet and toast.
Courtesy of June Wong
A classic breakfast plate at Lucky's Golden Phenix in North Park, featuring hash browns, an omelet and toast.

In 1975, Lucky's Breakfast, also known as Lucky's Golden Phenix, opened in North Park with a few U-shaped booths, a short-order griddle and a man named Lucky Wong at the helm. Well into his 80s, Lucky worked as a one-man show: He took every order from memory, cooked and served every plate and made every customer feel like family.

"Everybody thought they were special to him," said Ruth Kramer, a longtime patron. "I don't know how he did it, but you knew he cared about you."

At the June 28 unveiling of "Lucky Lane," Matt Lyons and June Wong gathered beneath the new street sign as a lion dance troupe performed in honor of Lucky Wong.
Courtesy of June Wong
Matt Lyons and June Wong stand under the new "Lucky Lane" street sign with a lion dance troupe at the June 28 unveiling ceremony honoring Lucky Wong.

The no-frills diner outlasted neighborhood changes, the pandemic and even a viral TikTok surge that brought lines down the block. When Lucky closed his doors in 2024 and later passed away, the loss was felt far beyond San Diego.

" I felt like a family member had passed and it was sad," said Jerry Rickett of Corbin, Kentucky, who visited every other year.

In his honor, the city renamed the block of Grim Avenue where the diner stood "Lucky Lane." Through stories from family, regulars and friends, this episode remembers the man who poured the coffee, cracked the eggs — and the jokes — and quietly built a community, one breakfast at a time.

Guests:

With breakfast plates in hand, Lucky Wong welcomed customers inside his North Park diner, Lucky's Golden Phenix.
Courtesy of Colleen Haynes
With breakfast plates in hand, Lucky Wong welcomed customers inside his North Park diner, Lucky's Golden Phenix.

Sources:

@domexican1 #breakfast #family #niece #uncle #memories #foryou #foodie #california #sandiego ♬ Past Lives (slowed + reverb) - sapientdream & Slushii

North Park block to be renamed 'Lucky Lane' after the man who served it for 50 years

From KPBS Public Media, The Finest is a podcast about the people, art and movements redefining culture in San Diego. Listen to it wherever you get your podcasts or click the play button at the top of this page and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Pocket Casts, Pandora, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

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