How banh meee became a business
Hi, my name is Dung (G) Tran. Vietnamese food to me is just food, but to many people it’s a special event when they go out to enjoy Vietnamese food. Vietnamese dishes are very colorful, full of different flavors and textures, and should be eaten freshly served because of the complexity of the condiments and veggies that enhance the dishes’ flavor.
Most people know what Pho is, but what about Bun Bo Hue? Or Bun Rieu? Or even a Banh Mi? I wanted to showcase that Vietnamese food isn't just a single dish that we eat for breakfast but other dishes with differences and contrasts in flavor. I wanted to show people that Sweet Spicy Fish Sauce "nuoc mam" can make a rice dish so much better (and that it doesn't actually smell like a nasty fermented fish).
I didn't just want to own a Vietnamese food truck but rather, I wanted to understand everything in the process, and adjust the flavor accordingly. And besides, an added advantage to a food truck is that it’s mobile so I can reach a greater customer base more effectively.
In 2015, I began watching my girlfriend’s mother and grandmother cook, and learned the skills and tricks they used to make the best versions of some of my favorite Vietnamese dishes. The tastes of these dishes were distinct, very flavorful and strong. I then came across Thuy from Little Viet Kitchen and said to myself "Wow, her dishes look amazing." From Thuy, I realized that presentation is key. I also decided to take it one step further by learning how to garden because I wanted to personally grow the herbs and vegetables that I would need to for the dishes.
Eating Vietnamese dishes isn't simple either. That’s because most of our dishes are noodles or some kind of rice with fish sauce. You can't just throw everything together and eat it two hours later (trust me, the taste will be off and the texture won’t be so good either). So, I wanted to find a container that would allow me to make eating Vietnamese dishes simple for the average person looking for an easy lunch, as well as be able to pack food to-go for the those customers who want to bring food home for their family or for dinner. After searching and trying out multiple different products, I finally found the right packaging.
After much trial and experimentation, I have optimized my favorite Vietnamese dishes into meals that are not only simple and easy to enjoy now (or later) but are also true to the taste of the dish. I hope to have the opportunity to share them with you.
Hi, my name is Dung (G) Tran. Vietnamese food to me is just food, but to many people it’s a special event when they go out to enjoy Vietnamese food. Vietnamese dishes are very colorful, full of different flavors and textures, and should be eaten freshly served because of the complexity of the condiments and veggies that enhance the dishes’ flavor.
Most people know what Pho is, but what about Bun Bo Hue? Or Bun Rieu? Or even a Banh Mi? I wanted to showcase that Vietnamese food isn't just a single dish that we eat for breakfast but other dishes with differences and contrasts in flavor. I wanted to show people that Sweet Spicy Fish Sauce "nuoc mam" can make a rice dish so much better (and that it doesn't actually smell like a nasty fermented fish).
I didn't just want to own a Vietnamese food truck but rather, I wanted to understand everything in the process, and adjust the flavor accordingly. And besides, an added advantage to a food truck is that it’s mobile so I can reach a greater customer base more effectively.
In 2015, I began watching my girlfriend’s mother and grandmother cook, and learned the skills and tricks they used to make the best versions of some of my favorite Vietnamese dishes. The tastes of these dishes were distinct, very flavorful and strong. I then came across Thuy from Little Viet Kitchen and said to myself "Wow, her dishes look amazing." From Thuy, I realized that presentation is key. I also decided to take it one step further by learning how to garden because I wanted to personally grow the herbs and vegetables that I would need to for the dishes.
Eating Vietnamese dishes isn't simple either. That’s because most of our dishes are noodles or some kind of rice with fish sauce. You can't just throw everything together and eat it two hours later (trust me, the taste will be off and the texture won’t be so good either). So, I wanted to find a container that would allow me to make eating Vietnamese dishes simple for the average person looking for an easy lunch, as well as be able to pack food to-go for the those customers who want to bring food home for their family or for dinner. After searching and trying out multiple different products, I finally found the right packaging.
After much trial and experimentation, I have optimized my favorite Vietnamese dishes into meals that are not only simple and easy to enjoy now (or later) but are also true to the taste of the dish. I hope to have the opportunity to share them with you.
We started as a food truck.
We opened as a food truck in the summer of 2017. When we first opened our foodtruck we were just in Newington, CT. We parked at Market Square. We thought that we could make it work in a small town and maybe build a nice little food truck area in the town of Newington. After a few months we found out that while our food was good it would take us a long time to get enough customer to come to Market Square, Newington wasn't known for food trucks.
We then decided to go to the nearing city which was Hartford, CT. Hartford, CT also wasn't known of it's food trucks but we had to give it a shot. Life in the city was much different and we needed special permits to park in some areas of the city. We tired to get these permits but the department that handles them was very slow. Lucky we met a person at the "Riverfront Recapture" and he helped us out but allowing us to park on their bridge Monday to Friday. Life was hard on a food truck but we loved being on that bridge. We met amazing people and even got to know most of them. I still remember one in particular, his name was Noah. He use to come almost everyday and he tired everyone of our specials.
We opened as a food truck in the summer of 2017. When we first opened our foodtruck we were just in Newington, CT. We parked at Market Square. We thought that we could make it work in a small town and maybe build a nice little food truck area in the town of Newington. After a few months we found out that while our food was good it would take us a long time to get enough customer to come to Market Square, Newington wasn't known for food trucks.
We then decided to go to the nearing city which was Hartford, CT. Hartford, CT also wasn't known of it's food trucks but we had to give it a shot. Life in the city was much different and we needed special permits to park in some areas of the city. We tired to get these permits but the department that handles them was very slow. Lucky we met a person at the "Riverfront Recapture" and he helped us out but allowing us to park on their bridge Monday to Friday. Life was hard on a food truck but we loved being on that bridge. We met amazing people and even got to know most of them. I still remember one in particular, his name was Noah. He use to come almost everyday and he tired everyone of our specials.
We opened our store on Capitol Ave in the winter of 2018
While we got amazing reviews and a loyal following with our food truck. We couldn't make it work financially . We were the new guy in town and we couldn't get into the bigger events or farmers market because we didn't have a strong brand yet, and events and farmers market help when you are running a food truck. We almost close down banh meee. But I told my then girlfriend now wife I wanted to give it one last shot and open a store front. That's when I found out that BOB's Ramen closed down. I contacted the owners of that business and decided to take a change and go "ALL-IN". We were putting up the rest of our savings to open this store but we felt that it was a gamble we were willing to take.
While on capitol we learned how to really cook and started to rework and expended our menu. We added more banh mi's and noodle dishes, we also added boba teas and small plates to our menu. The first year wasn't very busy but we made it work and the locals were very supportive. We would have great conversation with whoever came into our shop. In our first year as a brick and mortar we won some awards and built our followings and we started to see how our business could grow. We then decided to start looking for a location for our second store. We were looking around the Berlin/Newington/Glastonbury/New Haven areas. We looked at many locations but faith has it that our second location would be in DOWNTOWN HARTFORD.
While we got amazing reviews and a loyal following with our food truck. We couldn't make it work financially . We were the new guy in town and we couldn't get into the bigger events or farmers market because we didn't have a strong brand yet, and events and farmers market help when you are running a food truck. We almost close down banh meee. But I told my then girlfriend now wife I wanted to give it one last shot and open a store front. That's when I found out that BOB's Ramen closed down. I contacted the owners of that business and decided to take a change and go "ALL-IN". We were putting up the rest of our savings to open this store but we felt that it was a gamble we were willing to take.
While on capitol we learned how to really cook and started to rework and expended our menu. We added more banh mi's and noodle dishes, we also added boba teas and small plates to our menu. The first year wasn't very busy but we made it work and the locals were very supportive. We would have great conversation with whoever came into our shop. In our first year as a brick and mortar we won some awards and built our followings and we started to see how our business could grow. We then decided to start looking for a location for our second store. We were looking around the Berlin/Newington/Glastonbury/New Haven areas. We looked at many locations but faith has it that our second location would be in DOWNTOWN HARTFORD.
We open our second store in downtown Hartford in March of 2020
When didn't plan on opening on second store in Downtown Hartford. Jody from stock-pole clothing which is now our landlord approached us in the summer of 2019. I alway told myself that you have to keep your options open to any idea so when Jody told us about the storefront at 126 Ann Uccello Street we were not really into the idea of having a second store only 1 mile away from our first store. But after meeting with Jody and Ron and thinking it over we decided that we didn't see any downtown customer and that we also needed a larger kitchen to handle catering and larger size orders. The city of Hartford to me has always been an amazing city so I decided after talking it over with my wife that opening a second store in downtown had more pros then cons. We had the store remodel and open within a few months. Then Covid hit...
Since Covid hit like all business we had to adjust how we ran our business. We had to closed our store on capitol and only have half our staff. We had to change our menu around and we also had to learn new cooking technique to make sure we still provide the same quality food but because we had a lot less volume we couldn't do the things we did before. The past year has been a struggle for most small business. But because we were still such a new business we remember how hard the first year was and we just adopt. You hear people say all the time that "the business should of planned for this" but in reality what business plans for a year of slow to no revenue? Plus the food business is a little different then other business. When you are a realtor, salesman, marketing person, etc and there is no business you just take the day off and enjoy it with your family. However when you are in the food business that makes fresh food you still have buy the food, prep and if no one comes to eat then it is all wasted. I believe that is why so many food business is closing at a faster rate then other business because even if there is no customer they still have to spend money each day just to open their doors.
Covid will past with time, and the banh meee team will be here to provide amazing and affordable food to our local community.
When didn't plan on opening on second store in Downtown Hartford. Jody from stock-pole clothing which is now our landlord approached us in the summer of 2019. I alway told myself that you have to keep your options open to any idea so when Jody told us about the storefront at 126 Ann Uccello Street we were not really into the idea of having a second store only 1 mile away from our first store. But after meeting with Jody and Ron and thinking it over we decided that we didn't see any downtown customer and that we also needed a larger kitchen to handle catering and larger size orders. The city of Hartford to me has always been an amazing city so I decided after talking it over with my wife that opening a second store in downtown had more pros then cons. We had the store remodel and open within a few months. Then Covid hit...
Since Covid hit like all business we had to adjust how we ran our business. We had to closed our store on capitol and only have half our staff. We had to change our menu around and we also had to learn new cooking technique to make sure we still provide the same quality food but because we had a lot less volume we couldn't do the things we did before. The past year has been a struggle for most small business. But because we were still such a new business we remember how hard the first year was and we just adopt. You hear people say all the time that "the business should of planned for this" but in reality what business plans for a year of slow to no revenue? Plus the food business is a little different then other business. When you are a realtor, salesman, marketing person, etc and there is no business you just take the day off and enjoy it with your family. However when you are in the food business that makes fresh food you still have buy the food, prep and if no one comes to eat then it is all wasted. I believe that is why so many food business is closing at a faster rate then other business because even if there is no customer they still have to spend money each day just to open their doors.
Covid will past with time, and the banh meee team will be here to provide amazing and affordable food to our local community.
What kind of food do we serve
As we learn more about cooking technique, our dish will evolved or become more basic because we learned how to use old style of cooking like steaming, roasting, smoking etc etc. While our dishes has change because of new technique that we learned. They will always have one thing in common, is that they have been inspired by Vietnamese cruise.
As we learn more about cooking technique, our dish will evolved or become more basic because we learned how to use old style of cooking like steaming, roasting, smoking etc etc. While our dishes has change because of new technique that we learned. They will always have one thing in common, is that they have been inspired by Vietnamese cruise.
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