One of San Francisco’s best known restaurants, AsiaSF, is establishing a new restaurant in Hollywood, called AsiaSF Hollywood (which kinda sounds like the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, but I digress). Aside from the lethal drinks and pretty good small plates and entrees, AsiaSF is best known for their hostesses, who happen to be primarily transgendered male-to-female women and “gender illusionists”, who do fabulous choreographed song-and-dance numbers. It’s also one of the few places in San Francisco where transgendered women can find legitimate work, since many avenues for work are often shut out to them, particularly if they are working class. Many transgendered people, even if they have advanced degrees, are often forced to find other jobs because of the extreme transphobia in many fields, or must turn to sex work and other illicit occupations in order to survive. I’ve known many of the girls who’ve worked at AsiaSF as either former staff of mine when I was working as executive director of a nonprofit, or colleagues when I was doing my grad school research, and many of them look at AsiaSF as one of the first places that respected them for who they are, as people with goals and dreams, and not as something to mock.
One of the most famous hostesses there is Nikki Calma, otherwise known as Tita Aida, who’s been a tireless advocate for the queer and transgendered Asian community in San Francisco for years (and a very dear friend of mine), and who also happens to work full time at the Asian and Pacific Islander Wellness Center as coordinator for a number of outreach programs. Nikki’s also known for hosting charity events showcasing transgendered performers, as well as being a member of the SF Pride Committee for many years.
The San Francisco Chronicle recently wrote an article about the auditions for hostesses at AsiaSF Hollywood, and are also reporting a reality show featuring the restaurant and their hostesses is in the works. Given all the drama and cattiness that they have, but also their sincerity and drive, I’ll probably check it out.
