Restaurant owner fulfilling big dreams with help from group investing in AAPI community
Owner credits group committed to helping AAPI small businesses with launching his dream
BATH BEACH, Brooklyn (WABC) -- From working as a business account executive to now running several restaurants of his own in Brooklyn, one man is proving his dream was worth the investment.
At Pho Table in Bath Beach, Brooklyn, the grilled chicken is sizzling, and the dumplings are crispy, but the beef pho is the main attraction.
"It's no msg. We cook it for about a day or so. Just long enough before the fire department tells me to turn off the burners," said Matt Vuong, the co-owner of Pho Table Restaurants. "All pho is good pho. I love pho. I eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It doesn't matter."
Vuong's secret recipe is not much of a secret these days.
The 26-year-old former business account executive for T-Mobile opened his first ever business venture in 2023.
This is now his fifth location in Brooklyn -- an aggressive expansion in just three years.
"Traditional banks, the problem is they want stability," Vuong said. "They want tax returns with unlimited profits, and they want business experience starting from when I was 5 years old. I don't think they would approve me even now."
So, Vuong turned to The Asian American Foundation's NYC Elevating Business Loan Program, a $5.5 million initiative investing in the community to help small businesses grow and thrive.
"People are not an algorithm. They are relational," said Jessie Lee of Renaissance Economic Development Corporation. "So, we definitely look at what is his vision? How is he going to execute it? What is his operational mindset? Does he have a team of people to support him?"
According to New York City's Economic Development Corporation, more than 180,000 small businesses employ a million people, which makes up 98% of all businesses citywide.
New York has the highest number of minority-owned small businesses per capita of any major U.S. city.
The city's AAPI-owned businesses generate $72 billion in annual revenue.
"Small businesses are the greatest opportunity to be job creators and contribute to local economies," said Priscilla Kwak of the Asian American Foundation. "We wanted to make sure that we're not only meeting the needs of AAPI entrepreneurs but really looking at the city level of where the commercial corridor needed investment."
As for Vuong, whose father also owned restaurants, he says he tried to escape the industry, but home ultimately pulled him back in.
"I started out as a server. I was that kid doing homework and taking orders," he said.
He's now set to open his sixth location.
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