For a few hours on Thursday night, an industrial block in the Dogpatch became the hottest spot for Korean food in San Francisco. 

As the sun started its descent under the horizon, a line of people sporting vintage outerwear, chunky platforms, micro minis, and many, many Labubus stretched down Third Street to the roll-up doors at Sohn, the three-month-old Korean cafe and coffee shop. Inside, a half-dozen staff members pulled leopard-spotted pizzas out of a massive deck oven, and topped them with showers of grated parmesan, picked carrots, and potato chips, all while Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” blasted in the background. 

The one-night-only Korean Pizza Night brought together a supergroup of local Korean-American stars, including Sohn co-owner Deuki Hong, pizzaiolo Eric Ehler of Outta Sight, and DJ Mike Woo. Ehler, who owns two locations of Outta Sight with business partner Peter Dorrance, has become a darling of the city’s pizza scene, known for both his sick skateboarding skills (opens in new tab) and for putting Peking duck and butter chicken on pizza and making it work. For his part, Hong, who owns Sohn with partner Janet Lee, has a following that reaches well beyond San Francisco, thanks to his time working at Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong in New York and his two popular cookbooks, “Koreatown (opens in new tab)” and “Koreaworld (opens in new tab).” 

In a city ravenous for Korean cuisine and a seemingly endless patience for standing in line, the pop-up was a don’t-miss event for restaurant insiders, many of whom showed less to eat than to support their comrades. “This city is funny,” said Salt Partners’ Hanson Li, a prominent restaurant investor whose portfolio includes Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream, Last Rites, Horsefeather, Saison, and of course Sohn. Shaking his head and smiling, he said, “I don’t think this block has ever seen this many people.” 

Though the doors didn’t open until 5 p.m., Tien Dihn and Nicholas Willis showed up at 4:10 p.m. to grab the first two spots in a line that eventually stretched to more than 100 people. “We were actually worried about getting here this late,” Willis said with a shrug. Their arrival was well-timed; a couple about 10 yards back said they showed up just 20 minutes after — and were still inching their way forward an hour later. 

It was an outsize turnout for a menu that included just three items: two types of pizza by the slice and chicken wings. Ehler, who prepped 50 pies for the event, said he and Hong have been friends for the past decade, so a team-up was inevitable. “I’m flattered that so many people turned up,” Ehler added while slicing a still-steaming pie.

For those who showed up early enough to get a slice — customers were limited to ordering two per person — the bimbimbap ($8) was a mosaic of textures and bold flavors starring Volcano Kimchi (opens in new tab)-marinara sauce, crispy rice, crunchy Korean pickles, and a drizzle of gochujang mayo. The galbi jim ($10) was just as novel, topped with a pleasantly surprising combination of marinated short rib, thin rounds of pickled carrots, mozzarella cheese, and whole potato chips. Sohn’s contribution to the menu was the quartet of sticky-sweet, hot-honey butter chicken wings tangled up with bouncy, salty fried tteokbokki. 

An hour into the affair, customers were scattered through the split-level space, lounging on couches and standing around high tops, taking bites of each other’s slices. More than a few were sipping cans of lychee-infused ale (opens in new tab) from Oakland-based Dokkaebier, known for infusing Korean flavors into its beer. 

Outside, the line only continued to swell. Near the back, Japser Lee waited while his friends circled the block looking for parking. One of his friends had seen the event on Instagram and rallied a group to check it out. Considering the scores of people ahead of him, he seemed skeptical they’d want to wait. 

But he wasn’t too worried about missing out on the special menu items; he figured out a way to make do with what was in his fridge. “I have leftover galbi jim at home from Daeho,” Lee said. “I could put it on top of Costco pizza.”