Vietnamese people reach far: Bring Nam Dinh beef pho to Europe to build a million-dollar Vietnamese restaurant empire

Having worked in a foreign country for nearly 30 years, Mr. Tran Quoc Thang (50 years old) still wants to preserve the familiar flavor of his hometown in his current life. As for his cousin, Lucia Thao Huong Simekova (Vietnamese name is Vu Thao Huong, 32 years old), although born and raised in Slovakia, always remembers her roots.

Ms. Lucia Thao Huong invited Mr. Quoc Thang to bring the bowls of pho from her hometown to Europe, introducing them to international friends. She took on the role of communication and strategy while Mr. Thang was the human resource manager and supervision of food quality at the PHOCKAREN restaurant chain (Pho's House) launched in 2017. After only two years, the system has achieved a revenue of 3.4 million USD, now there are 20 restaurants across Slovakia.

Thanks to this good combination, in 2020, Ms. Lucia Thao Huong became the first Vietnamese to be honored by Forbes Slovakia in the 30 Under 30 list in 2020.

The efforts of this pair of "parasite" relatives also received high appreciation from the local government. Mr. Thang and Ms. Lucia Thao Huong had an intimate conversation with Lao Dong Newspaper to share about their journey to start a business in a foreign land.

" crude heart" of Vietnamese features

Why did you decide to bring pho to Slovakia?

- Anh Quoc Thang: I went to Europe to work in 1996, not afraid to do many jobs and finally had a chance to cook. I used to cook in many places such as Germany, Austria, Switzerland... and finally accepted Huong's offer, arranged everything to move to Slovakia with the desire to spread Vietnamese culture. In 2016, almost all of the Vietnamese restaurants opened with signs introducing Chinese, Japanese or Korean dishes...

Ms. Lucia Thao Huong: Vietnam is always a " piece" that completes me. My daily meals are Vietnamese. For me, Vietnamese cuisine is not only food, but also a memory, an emotion and a bond connecting with my homeland.

The Vietnamese culinary business is not simply following trends or dominating the market because I want to create something meaningful to share my culture, not only with the Slovakian people but also with the Vietnamese community living here. Above all, I want to prove that Vietnamese identity has a place in European society.

What is the advantage of the two of you when deciding to join this project?

- Mr. Quoc Thang: I was born into a family with a very responsible mother and a very delicious father cooking, after that the brothers followed their father's footsteps to open a restaurant. It seems that my love for pho and cooking skills also come from there. At first, I planned to include your country's sushi in my home menu, but Huong said she only wanted to sell pure Vietnamese dishes.

Although born in Europe, Huong always aims to return to Vietnam. Moreover, this is a young girl with talent in the fields of communications and diplomacy. Our business has developed quite "msily".

Ms. Lucia Thao Huong: The biggest advantage is that I do not do it alone when I am accompanied by Mr. Thang - the soul of the kitchen - with extensive knowledge of Vietnamese cuisine, a spirit of discipline and impressive dedication.

Unite with the desire to promote Vietnamese cuisine

Even with a sharp business mindset, you will certainly have to face unpredictable "unknown" challenges?

- Ms. Lucia Thao Huong: Although born into a family of traders, I have no experience in the field of food and beverage services. The administrative system in Slovakia requires many procedures, documents and finding good, dedicated personnel in the F&B industry is not easy. There were times when I felt pressured, tired, and un sleepy because I had to handle all kinds of work: Finance, finance, logistics, and still be a mother, a woman in the family.

Mr. Quoc Thang: At the time of the COVID-19 outbreak, raw materials increased in price by nearly 2-3 times but were scarce. At the time of receiving the blockade order, we were forced to close and nearly 100 workers of the restaurant also "lost their jobs". Because we did not have to watch the cash flow flow flow flow in a wasteful way, we thought about buying a car to deliver to customers. Difficulties will never end, the important thing is that we are all united in solving them.

Ms. Lucia Thao Huong: Another difficult period is after the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out, causing energy, raw material prices, and inflation to increase sharply. We are forced to review the entire financial structure, renegotiate the contract and calculate each cost to maintain operations.

In addition to those "back-school" pressures, the biggest concern of startups is that there are no customers, which does not seem to be true to the story of the couple?

- Ms. Lucia Thao Huong: Before opening the restaurant, we experimented at a local music festival, with a very small booth, a limited menu and a team of only 6 people. However, the result surprised us: Customers lined up long, many waited for more than an hour, and were completely sold out. From that day on, we knew we could do it.

Mr. Quoc Thang: We started working with the estimate that this pho restaurant will sell about 100 meals/day, making a profit of 3,000 - 5,000 euros/month. With such a plan, our kitchen is quite small. However, after 6 months of opening the restaurant, unexpectedly welcomed by local people, we were forced to close for a month to... expand the kitchen.

At the same time, we also sat together to discuss long-term development plans. Currently, because we want to develop a professional restaurant model and elevate Vietnamese dishes, we have hired foreign managers.

So how did diners receive the first bowls of pho from the brothers and sisters?

- Ms. Lucia Thao Huong: Slovakian customers praise the delicious, light Vietnamese cuisine, clean ingredients, lots of green vegetables and is very suitable for the current healthy eating trend in Europe. The most favorite dish is definitely beef pho because it has a rich broth and herbal aroma. Many people even say they are "addicted" to pho, because the special flavor cannot be found anywhere else. Diners also love bun cha, spring rolls and bun bo Hue.

Mr. Quoc Thang: Except for beef and herbs that must be imported fresh from neighboring European countries, ingredients such as pho noodles or indispensable spices such as cinnamon, salmon, and cardamom are all transported from Vietnam. I want to preserve the flavor of Nam Dinh beef pho in Slovakia.

Previously, in the old menu, Western guests also really liked our stir-fried pho. The pho noodles are stir-fried, add half a tomato, add celery, water spinach, the ship's scent is even and scoop out the bowl to water the pho juice. However, in order to best serve diners within a limited time, we currently only sell ripe boy's pho at 4 main restaurants and 5 franchises.

What are your plans to promote Vietnamese cuisine in Europe in the near future?

- Ms. Lucia Thao Huong: I believe that Vietnamese cuisine still has a lot of un discovered potential in Europe, and I want to contribute to bringing it closer to everyone. However, our current focus is internal reinvestment: Building a solid team, standardizing the system, investing in technology, digital infrastructure.

For me, development is not only about expanding scale but also about doing everything in a meticulous, purposeful way and always loyal to core values.

In addition to the restaurant, we regularly participate in fairs and music festivals to reach many new groups of customers. One of the biggest marks is that Vietnam Day in Slovakia in 2024 attracted more than 10,000 attendees - a clear demonstration that the Slovakian people have always had a passion for Vietnamese culture.

Mr. Quoc Thang: In addition to the common house of our brothers, I am also one of the active members of the group We Love Pho. We are simply Vietnamese children living in Europe who are eager to bring the "national soul" dish of our homeland to the "big sea".

Hopefully, with the efforts of not only me, Huong or other compatriots who are far from home, Vietnamese pho will always leave unforgettable impressions in the hearts of international friends.

Thank you for the conversation!