People driving past the Phoenix Palace restaurant at 901 W. Lacey Blvd. in Hanford might think it's just another new eatery.

But there's a story of blood, sweat and tears behind Phoenix Palace, and it has everything to do with the life and times of manager Sherry Song.

For the slim 54-year-old, its a living metaphor for starting a new life. The word "phoenix" is not an accident. The name stems from the legend of a bird that catches fire, burns to ashes, and is reborn.

Song has come to Hanford to start a new life, and Phoenix Palace is her new life, raised up from the ashes of troubles in a former life in Ohio.

Song declined to describe her difficulties back in Columbus, saying they are too painful to relate.

But whatever they are, they were bad enough to make her want to start a new life somewhere else.

So when she and a friend noticed the location for sale in Hanford on Lacey Boulevard in Hanford, they decided to make the leap to the Central Valley.

Song came with some experience in restaurants but had never taken on a management role.

"I wanted to try it. That's human nature, am I right?" she said with a smile.

That was in March. Song and her friend, Lilies El-Badewi, bought the old Gourmet Buffet. Song figured it would be a quick transition. It proved to be anything but. The previous owners, she said, had left the place filthy, greasy and cockroach-infested. Health officials showed her pages and pages of violations.

The cleanup process took months, sometimes driving Song to tears and making her despair that it would ever get done. But, as she put it, they had reached "the point of no return," so they pressed on.

Phoenix Palace officially opened in September, with a grand opening ceremony last month.

The place has a distinctively different look, thanks to Song's painting hobby. Throughout the restaurant, there are dozens of her works -- mostly in oil but some in watercolor, depicting everything from mountain scenery to serene pagodas and ponds.

On one wall, Song has placed a big painting of a laughing Buddha, leaning against a bag of money with coins at his feet. Included are the Chinese characters for happiness and good luck.

The painting are for her a way of coping with the past, a way of spending time creating things of beauty rather than focusing on pain.

In the little time she can spare away from the restaurant, she paints.

"When you are done (painting), sometimes you come back to reality," she said.

Reality is mostly making the restaurant work. Song admits to the struggles. The economy is bad, for one thing, and there's plenty of competition. Then there's trying to figure out what local residents are looking for. Song combines some buffet-style food with an extensive menu of Chinese and Thai dishes, each described in detail.

She tries to make a point of going to every table, talking to the guests, getting feedback.

"Maybe a woman's touch will help," she said.

Employees hired from the local area give advice -- adding a little pepper to appeal to Hispanic customers, for example.

Song said she has encountered difficulty as a female restaurant owner. Some people think they can take advantage of her as a woman, she said.

Song said she's become something of a handywoman to save on fix-it costs.

At the level of being a woman running a business, the world "phoenix" has added meaning for her. In Chinese culture, she said, the phoenix is associated with queens and princesses.

And so the Ohio woman with a new existence -- and a new business to go with it -- is forging ahead.

"When you want to start a new life, you come from the ashes," she said.

The reporter can be reached at 583-2432.

(Nov. 12, 2009)