The restaurant industry can be a tricky one to succeed in, with many sadly forced to close their doors. Keeping up is no easy feat. Diners’ tastes and preferences have changed over the years, and the cost of rent and ingredients are on the rise. However, one Calgary family has defied the odds to create a restaurant empire that has spanned almost 20 years.
For Coi and Lan Pham, the journey to becoming successful restaurateurs was anything but easy. From fleeting Vietnam in the 1980s and eventually settling in Calgary, the couple has worked extremely hard to create a legacy for their family.
Fleeing Vietnam
In 1989, Coi and Lan Pham fled Vietnam for Malaysia when they were just 24 and 18 years old, respectively. The couple spent a week travelling on a small boat crammed with 52 people.
“We couldn’t even lie down or anything for one week, just sit,” Lan told Dished.
“You can see the ocean, the sky, nothing else,” Coi explained, adding that it was “very scary.”
However, the journey was important to the couple who wished to make a new life for themselves in another country.
The pair reached Malaysia, where they lived in a refugee camp for almost four years and had their first daughter. In 1992, they were able to move to Canada, landing first in Edmonton.
Pho Pham
When the couple arrived, they couldn’t speak English, and Coi said he went to school for six months to learn the language before picking up multiple jobs to help support his family.
“It was a little bit hard […] So at night time, we go to the restaurant. And daytime, we were in a factory,” he added.
With the goal in mind of opening their restaurant one day, the couple worked hard, balancing jobs and saving money for years to be able to make that dream a reality.
The pair eventually moved to Calgary and finally, in 2005, the Phams raised enough to open their own restaurant.
Building a restaurant empire
The couple found an old restaurant for sale on 17th Avenue SE and opened their very first restaurant, Pho Hoan Pasteur.
Coi and Lan worked hard to ensure the restaurant was a success, but the first two years were difficult, putting whatever money they could spare back into the business and hoping to draw in customers. The couple would sometimes not even be able to pay themselves for their work.
“We put everything in there: my money, our energy, everything we do,” Lan said, adding it was the one time she wanted to give up.
Charlie Hart/Dished
For those unfamiliar with the restaurant, Pho Hoan Pasteur offers classic Vietnamese dishes, such as steaming bowls of pho and delicious vermicelli, and appetizers, such as onion cakes and spring rolls.
Luckily for the Phams, their hard work and dedication to building the restaurant paid off. While it was slow to begin with, Pho Hoan Pasteur was able to build up a loyal base of customers. Now, the restaurant’s popularity has grown across the province, operating nine locations in Calgary, Edmonton, and Fort Saskatchewan.
The couple said those customers who visited right at the beginning of their restaurant journey are a big reason why they have been able to build so many successful restaurants.
In 2022, the Phams launched their latest restaurant concept, Pho Pham, in Calgary’s Signal Hill neighbourhood. Building on their original concept, Pho Pham features tons of greenery and materials that pay homage to Vietnam.
Charlie Hart/Dished
Just last year, Pho Pham opened its second outpost in the University District.
According to the couple, working together as a family in the restaurants has been extremely important. Coi said he always talks to Lan and the kids. While it can be hard sometimes, “we always share and talk,” he added.
Vi Pham, daughter of Coi and Lan, told Dished it has been “really rewarding” over the years to see her parents not only succeed as business owners but also lift their entire families out of poverty.
“When they left Vietnam, they were poor farmers. They had nothing,” she explained.
Vi added that her family in Vietnam had not been able to afford meat to eat, but her mother would send money every Lunar New Year so they could enjoy meat.
“Now my cousin’s here. She also works for the restaurant and is part of the business, too,” she added.
Pho Pham
“To able to help their families in a way, to provide jobs and help provide education for the younger generation, it’s been really cool to see and watch. It makes me feel very lucky to have them as parents,” she said.
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