Today we’d like to introduce you to Hoang Pham.
Hi Hoang, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
After spending over eight years working in corporate accounting, I felt a desire to do something that would be more meaningful to me. In 2014, I visited South Vietnam for the first time and it completely changed me. During the visit, I found something I didn’t even know I was looking for. I found love through food. The idea of spreading joy through food was what I wanted to do. So in 2016, I started the blueprint that would become The Los Angeles Bánh Mì Company. I wanted to offer the Vietnamese experience in one easy and convenient package, so deciding on offering bánh mì was a no brainer. Also, my in laws makes the best French baguettes at the Pacific French Bakery in Mid City. With the help of my wife and her family and my brothers, we made a menu, decided on the location, and got to work. We open our doors in early 2017.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It was definitely not a smooth road. As many entrepreneurs would tell you, it’s never easy. Opening a restaurant without much prior experience required a lot of learning as we go. From prep to ordering inventory, everything had a learning curve. Working long hours by myself, my wife working graveyard shift so she could help me during lunch, my brothers coming in to help on their days off.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We’re a bánh mì shop in Huntington Park. We make fresh bánh mì that incorporates our community. We’re known for our unique bánh mì such as our Saigon hot chicken bánh mì and our roasted pork (carnitas) bánh mì. We’re proud of not taking shortcuts and continually providing the best products to our customers. I want readers to know that we’re not only in the food business, we’re also in the people business. We want our customers to feel like they’re a part of the bánh mì family.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
It’s hard to say, but we’re already seeing a huge shake up in the food industry. Food workers are looking for higher pay and better working conditions. Costs will continue to increase. Food delivery will still take a cut from the businesses, maybe even more so.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: Thelabanhmicompany.com
- Instagram: @labanhmico
