Vu Nguyen gestures toward the wide windows of Little Saigon, a Vietnamese restaurant on East Colonial Drive in Orlando. Outside, cars whizz by and pedestrians meander past, many heading to the Mills Market next door, where an early lunch crowd is beginning to gather.
“There weren’t that many people here,” Son Nguyen says, translating for his brother here and there. “Traffic was more open. Half the area was actually American.”
There was also a shop that made custom rubber stamps, a debt collector, and a dog groomer.
“There was also a video store where you could rent kung fu and martial arts movies.”
The brothers, along with their younger sister Mai Hung, laugh and talk about the memories.
Over time, all three spaces were absorbed into the Little Saigon property. They point out the sections that were added as the area grew.
Little Saigon opened in 1987 as one of the first Vietnamese restaurants in the area. They will be closing for good on December 27th, but they are happy to have served Orlando for so long and are happy to take the next step, but also happy to reflect. Plans for the property have not yet been announced.
“When we lived in Vietnam, my family ate street food, so it was familiar to us,” Nguyen says of how she got her start as an entrepreneur. Although it was the brothers’ business, their parents were willing to pitch in to help their children’s business flourish.
At the time, the space was only 1,000 square feet. There were no walk-ins or slicers. The meat for the pho had to be cut by hand. All were made and sold on the same daily cycle, Nguyen said.
“The restaurant was open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., but we would often be here until 2 or 3 a.m. preparing for the next day. Go home, sleep, and come back.”
At the time, Ms. Hung was a young mother with a baby at home, and had not seen her infant child since he was a child.
“The restaurant had to be my baby,” she says.
But over time, with three or so large Vietnamese markets in the area, Little Saigon grew and became a regular destination for families from other cities where the communities were not as large, such as Miami, Tampa, and Jacksonville.
“They would come here on the weekends to shop, come to the restaurant with their bags and coolers, eat a hot meal, and then drive home,” he recalls. “The restaurant will be full.”
Now, the same goes for the streets, says Son Nguyen.
“There are so many more people now,” he marvels. He has been in the business since 1990.
“This area is growing at an incredible rate and it’s looking better. I think it’s good for the community.”
His younger sister, Mai, wants to work even harder in his retirement.
“I’m so happy to have a day where I can see the doctor without having to reschedule my appointment,” she jokes. The restaurant business is a demanding business. Philanthropy would require a more benign schedule. Her younger brother, Vu, has also volunteered for many years at St. Philip Phan Van Minh Catholic Church, the first Vietnamese parish in the area.
He is looking forward to further success. And also for traveling.
In the meantime, the brothers have until Dec. 27 to happily welcome Orlando and bid farewell. It tells a fun story recorded over about 40 years. For example, there’s the story of then-Disney animator James Parris, who was a regular in Orlando and drew sketches for Mulan before heading to California. Celebrities also spotted included Jennifer Aniston, Martha Stewart (who both ordered summer rolls), and Wesley Snipes, who chatted with Son Nguyen over lunch.
“He had to go to court or something,” he jokes.
Professional basketball players also came out. And the coaches. And lives were saved (Vuu once helped a patron who had low blood sugar levels and had to be taken by ambulance, but he made a successful recovery). I enjoy lunch with friends, dates as couples, and big events with my family.
All the while, their restaurant family was handling the details.
“I have so many memories,” says Vu Nguyen. “This is like a second home. We’ve all spent so much time here.”
They say they’re ready to take the next step, but will miss their customers.
“We live here, but we don’t see each other every day,” says Son Nguyen. “We want them to know that we appreciate them. We owe all of our loyal customers for helping us grow our business.”
He says there were good times and bad times, but he never worried about competition because the regulars always showed up, even when more places opened or when things went down.
“Even though things were slow, I never thought they would close,” he says, looking around. “But now we are ready.”
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