Gchi Dang looked around the Junction and saw Japanese, Thai, Chinese and American restaurants, but no Vietnamese.

"I wanted to bring a new kind of food to the neighborhood," Dang said.

Than Brothers Restaurant opens in mid-November. Its specialty is pho (pronounced fah), rice noodle soup with varying ingredients such as chicken, beef, meatballs and other selections. A small bowl of pho for one person will cost $3.85, a medium-size bowl $4.25, and a large bowl for $5.95.

Incongruous as it may seem, the restaurant also specializes in cream puffs for dessert.

This is the eighth Than Bros. restaurant in the Seattle area. The first one opened 10 years ago in North Seattle and now they're also located at Capitol Hill, University District, Ballard, Edmonds, Redmond and Everett.

The West Seattle restaurant will seat 50 people. No smoking and no credit cards will be allowed; cash only please.

Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week.

Address: 4822 California Ave. S.W.

Phone: 937-6264

Spiro's anew

Construction workers have been expanding Spiro's Pizza and Pasta for a new banquet room.

The old Spiro's could seat about 70 people but the expanded restaurant will have room for 90 diners, said Evan Voltsis. He and his parents and sister, Jim, Sia and Eleni Voltsis, have owned the West Seattle restaurant for 15 years. They also own Spiro's restaurants in Shoreline and Mukilteo.

The West Seattle Spiro's, located at 3401 California Ave. S.W., is scheduled to reopen in early December.

New place for a coffee break

The coffeehouse across the street from Hiawatha Playfield changed hands recently. Formerly known as Speranza, the new place is called Freshy's.

Owner Amber Bennett lives in the Central District but decided to open a coffeehouse in West Seattle. The place grew on her after her brother moved here.

She installed some seating booths in the coffeehouse and added soup, sandwiches, quiche and fresh pastries to the menu.

Caffe Umbria coffee is the house brew and free wi-fi Internet connections continue. There's also a Ms. Pacman video game to play.

Hours: 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday; 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Address: 2735 California Ave. S.W.

Phone: 937-4316

Shoes, shoes, shoes

Dante Gomez is proud of the merchandise in his new shoe store in the Admiral District, which includes Mephisto, Finn Comfort, Dansko, Josef Seibel, Birkenstock, New Balance and other brands. Dante's carries dress as well as casual shoes at prices ranging from $50 to $250.

Approximately 70 percent of shoes sold in most shoe stores are for women, Gomez said. But Dante's carries men's shoes, and socks too.

Gomez also owns Dante's Capital Footwear in Olympia.

Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Address: 2350 California Ave. S.W.

Phone: 932-0951

Website: dantesshoes.com

Insurance agency opens

Sav-On Insurance Agencies opened a new office on 17th Avenue Southwest.

Sav-On is not an insurance company itself but an agency that helps customers find insurance coverage from an array of insurance companies.

Life insurance is available as are policies to insure homes, condos, renters, cars, motorcycles, recreational vehicles and boats.

Office manager of the new White Center agency is Sim Lam-Veth. She's worked for Sav-On Insurance Agencies for the past six years.

The other member of the Sav-On staff in the new office is Caren Rodriguez.

The grand opening of the new office is scheduled for 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20, with free food and door prizes.

Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday.

Address: 9614 17th Ave. S.W.

Phone: 767-7444.

Compiled by Tim St. Clair, who can be reached at tstclair@robinsonnews.com or 932-0300.