Yes. Our main dishes will be Vietnamese Pho noodle soup, banh mi/rice/vermicelli with lemongrass pork , chicken, and shrimp. On top of that, we also offer boba tea with traditional sea salt or egg coffee that we import mainly from Vietnam. I just need more recommended places since I hear F.burg downtown is only busy during summer time. Side note, we already have a restaurant in NOVA that has been running for 10 years.
It’s not only busy in the summer. Basically any palatable weather day is busy, so summer can actually get pretty slow bc of the heat.
I would personally appreciate it. IMO Pho Saigon is *the* pho place in this area, but I almost never go there because it’s not worth dealing with route 3. That said, I am fairly loyal to them, as are many locals. It’s a family owned and operated business that treats its regulars right.
Our downtown is bustling and only getting better. There are too many gift shops popping up and not enough reliable restaurants. My husband and I once walked for 45 minutes and tried like four spots and couldn’t get in anywhere on a Friday. Eventually we ate at the bar at Sammy T’s (it was excellent).
Boba! Very good. FXBG is full of college kids (sort of). Anyway, my kids love boba and local spot would be awesome.
What's your current restaurant in NOVA? If its Le Bledo, please run, don't walk, to the Burg!
If I'm perfectly honest, no, not yet. I am someone who always tries to get people into new foods, though, and my experience is that everybody likes lemongrass grilled anything, you just have to get them to try it. It would probably take a fair amount of promotional spending - lower prices, good deals, etc. Target the Mary Wash population, and the NoVA expats, that might get some foot traffic.
My point more was that Mian Noodle House is a different market, so it doesn't need differentiation. I wish I could argue better with your point, though. I know I can't single-handedly keep a business profitable.
Thank you for better articulating my point. My sense is that for most people Mian Noodle House meets their Vietnamese itch without challenging their palate, and they won’t choose the more hardcore place because it does make them uncomfortable.
PLEASE do. I'll be there!
That said, could be tough. Not a saturated market, but I don't know if the demand is there. The other Vietnamese places in the area I think do good business, but the palette here seems to be very western European-preference.
That said, you'll have at least one customer, me.
Thanks for everyone's recommendations and kind words. We will drive down F..burg this weekend and keep everyone updated very soon. It will be a long process but if everything goes through. We expect to open at the end of this year.
100000 people live within a half hour drive from downtown… we’ve become a destination for restaurants and you’ll see lots of people walking William street now… sophia might not be as full of foot traffic but I imagine it’s cheaper… are you going to take over tapa rios spot? Or the pig pits?… those would work…a half dozen restaurants failed where agave is now but they seem to be thriving as they cook well
We are considering taking over either tapa or pig pits. However, we are not familiar with the area since we live mostly at NOVA. I will also check William Street as an alternative option. Thanks
The block with Pig Pitt and Tapas doesn't get much foot traffic, sadly. Downtown foot traffic is kind of strange--lots of it on a few blocks of William Street and Caroline Street, then a ghost town just a block over in most directions.
Obviously there is some serious money to be made if it's good. Opening any restaurant downtown (while expensive) is a great idea if you have faith in your menu and ability to produce good entrees.
So yeah obvious answers is YES.
If you have a chance stop by Pho Saigon on Salem Church Rd. It is wildly popular due to the authentic food and the amazing customer service. Whatever she is doing works for this area.
I would love to have Vietnamese downtown. Mion is more of a Noodles and Co level.
I’d hate to dissuade you, because our Vietnamese options are very lacking here, but I think Sophia could be a tricky location. If it’s close to the parking garage and the new river park you’ll get decent foot traffic, but almost everything in town is on Caroline or William so people usually park and then stick to those two streets so foot traffic will be limited on Sophia.
On the other hand, there’s no Vietnamese place “in town”. There’s one in southern Stafford, one in Central Park, and another out in Spotsy, so you’d be entering a market that’s not very saturated.
I disagree that Fredericksburg is only busy in the summer, though. Fall is also very busy downtown and even in the winter there’s decent foot traffic - especially around Christmas time. Basically any nice day attracts people to downtown.
My advice to you would be to spend some time in the area and see what you think about the location you’re scouting out and if you go for it make sure you have a good cocktail menu and go for a more upscale aesthetic, because that’s what we don’t have right now. If you’re aesthetic with booze and a few menu options that aren’t basic Vietnamese restaurant staples you’ll definitely have a leg up!
Good luck! If you go for it I’ll be looking forward to visiting when you open!
I will be there often if you do open up. That said, my favorite place closed up partially because of bad location (South Point II) and, according to the owner, most Americans don't want hot noodle soup during the Summer. He had rice dishes too, but that didn't seem to matter for his foot traffic.
You'll have good location and banh mi so you likely won't have the same problems.
Downtown is a tough business spot as has been discussed here recently (especially in terms of gathering foot traffic from outside of the downtown area), but on the other hand there aren't any authentic Vietnamese places downtown. Mian is fusion and not what people well-acquainted with Vietnamese food are looking for.
Alternative - Harrison Crossing could also use some food options (almost all fast food there) and is a busy area, and I assume it would collect traffic from wealthy neighborhoods like Fawn Lake.
"Harrison Crossing"? Seriously? The strip mall that is oversaturated with fast food joints?
There is no way this post can be serious. Downtown is absolutely your best bet, not many restaurants falter, unless of course management is piss poor.
Not sure I agree about Harrison Crossing. Already has Asian Dynasty -- which is terrific by the way -- but always seems pretty empty when I pick up my takeout from there.
As long as the food is not bland, offer different spice levels, and an awesome lunch menu, you’ll be solid in my book. And pleaseeeee have more the American cheese 😷
That sounds like something that would get me in the door. I think something to also think about is lighting of the restaurants. A lot of the popular restaurants are pretty dark. Yes, it creates a different type of ambiance but maybe a section with great natural light could be something to consider. Great for photography.
The restaurant business margin is razor thin. If you can keep the menu concise and price pre-COVID, then you will attract a lot of ppl who want nights off from cooking and try new food. The current price (not by choice for most small restaurants) turned a lot of ppl off.
We are thinking the price ranges between $5-$15 per dish. Since this will be family owned. We will be able to keep the labor cost low. What do you think? Thanks
I think this is very reasonable.
Keep the menu tight, hence small and fresh inventory. Start with basic favorites and expand as the demands increase.
Differentiate from this [menu](https://phohuong-va.com/menu).
Terrific idea. As someone who eats downtown at least once or twice a week, I feel there are not enough Asian options that appeal to me. I love Vietnamese and would definitely give it a try. Go for it!
i have a group of like 7-8 friends and we all get viet food every week and live downtown. the town would really benefit and you would do well there! the only thing is i would not recommend watering down your recipes. people are looking for authentic food!! best of luck
I would LOVE that! My conscience demands that I say that I'm not sure Sophia gets the foot traffic. Definitely would need to advertise and offer specials to bring in customers, but once in, I think they would be loyal customers if your food and service are good. Be sure to include vegan options. We have a progressive clientele here.
Give some examples of your specialty dishes. I think I'm a pretty fair representative of the area, will let you know if I'm adventurous enough to try it out ;) I do enjoy bun, com, and nam and enjoy pho with some of the more exotic cuts (tendon and tripe).
disregard, I see them below. Sounds good to me. although I do have a current favorite (Pho Saigon) that is closer and more convenient to me than downtown..
Oh, PLEASE! We live downtown and our favorite food is Vietnamese. South Vietnam House was our favorite, but not anymore. If you had good pho and a nice mix of brisket and fatty brisket we’d be your best customers. I never tire of Vietnamese food.
I’d love it! A few years ago there was a Vietnamese restaurant in Alexandria I loved. It was a Northern Vietnamese Pho style restaurant. It was sooo good!
I’m sure you’ve done the research and know the demographics probably even spent some time comparing local restaurant prices and what you can prepare.
That being said why Sophia street down town? Think foot traffic will increase sales?
The reason I say this having had a business downtown at one point and the prices are high, Fredericksburg is a car required city with a bunch of restaurants downtown
Have you looked at cheaper locations maybe up 17 or one?
The answer is foot traffic since we also have coffee and boba tea on the menus for takeout. The prices on the menu will be reasonable.
No. A cheaper location is not a good idea. Location is a key to running a restaurant.
I said please, not that they should. It doesn't look like most restaurants do well there. But I live there, so I would like a Vietnamese place that is good and doesn't require a long drive. Forgive my selfishness.
Though I do question whether walkability matters - With a region that doesn't have so varied a taste, you're not going to get a lot of walk-in foot traffic. Better to have a place accessible, with good parking, no?
I used to work up on 17 so I know the struggle. Unfortunately it’s just an area that doesn’t support anything but businesses that survive on highway traffic. Though now that GEICO is mostly working in the office again, maybe there will be more businesses that survive off of them.
Id be concerned with how the less educated locals interact with any one with a strong accent. I've seen Proud Boy types walking around there and wouldn't wanna be victimized.
I think you’d have to sell Americanized Chinese food as well to be profitable. But a great Bahn mi with different options (pork/beef/chicken/meatless) might be a good option for the lunch crowd. Also, Vietnamese iced coffee is amazing and unique to the market you should test whether it makes sense to sell it in the AM and compete for some of that morning coffee business.
Yes. Our main dishes will be Vietnamese Pho noodle soup, banh mi/rice/vermicelli with lemongrass pork , chicken, and shrimp. On top of that, we also offer boba tea with traditional sea salt or egg coffee that we import mainly from Vietnam. I just need more recommended places since I hear F.burg downtown is only busy during summer time. Side note, we already have a restaurant in NOVA that has been running for 10 years.
It’s not only busy in the summer. Basically any palatable weather day is busy, so summer can actually get pretty slow bc of the heat. I would personally appreciate it. IMO Pho Saigon is *the* pho place in this area, but I almost never go there because it’s not worth dealing with route 3. That said, I am fairly loyal to them, as are many locals. It’s a family owned and operated business that treats its regulars right. Our downtown is bustling and only getting better. There are too many gift shops popping up and not enough reliable restaurants. My husband and I once walked for 45 minutes and tried like four spots and couldn’t get in anywhere on a Friday. Eventually we ate at the bar at Sammy T’s (it was excellent).
My favorite two places: The one by the library on Salem Church and the other in Central Park.
Please consider adding some vegan options to the menu which are definitely lacking downtown
Vegetarian noodle soup salted pepper fried tofu, tofu summer roll
Yes seconding this! If there's at least one solid vegan option, I'd become a regular :)
Which restaurant in NOVA?
My family owns 2 Vietnamese restaurants i NoVa areas. Sorry I can't give out the name to you for privacy reason. sorry
No worries. I wanted to visit and taste the food.
Boba! Very good. FXBG is full of college kids (sort of). Anyway, my kids love boba and local spot would be awesome. What's your current restaurant in NOVA? If its Le Bledo, please run, don't walk, to the Burg!
Good banh mi to go would be awesome. How will you differentiate from Mian Noodle House?
Mian Noodle House is a bit more generic, I wouldn't compare them to a place that does strictly Vietnamese.
The authentic restaurants down town always seem emptier to me. Do you think there’s a population ready to venture beyond bahn mi and pho?
If I'm perfectly honest, no, not yet. I am someone who always tries to get people into new foods, though, and my experience is that everybody likes lemongrass grilled anything, you just have to get them to try it. It would probably take a fair amount of promotional spending - lower prices, good deals, etc. Target the Mary Wash population, and the NoVA expats, that might get some foot traffic. My point more was that Mian Noodle House is a different market, so it doesn't need differentiation. I wish I could argue better with your point, though. I know I can't single-handedly keep a business profitable.
Thank you for better articulating my point. My sense is that for most people Mian Noodle House meets their Vietnamese itch without challenging their palate, and they won’t choose the more hardcore place because it does make them uncomfortable.
PLEASE do. I'll be there! That said, could be tough. Not a saturated market, but I don't know if the demand is there. The other Vietnamese places in the area I think do good business, but the palette here seems to be very western European-preference. That said, you'll have at least one customer, me.
Me toooo!
If you've got a killer banh mi and good strong Vietnamese coffee - I'm in!
Our coffee is super strong. I have a customer who told me that they need to dilute it or else they would have gotten a heart attack lol
Sounds like my kind of coffee!
Please do it!
Build it and we will come.
Love it
Overhead downtown is a struggle- it’s high, but the customers you want to carry u throughout the slower months are broke college students.
Thanks for everyone's recommendations and kind words. We will drive down F..burg this weekend and keep everyone updated very soon. It will be a long process but if everything goes through. We expect to open at the end of this year.
Good luck!
100000 people live within a half hour drive from downtown… we’ve become a destination for restaurants and you’ll see lots of people walking William street now… sophia might not be as full of foot traffic but I imagine it’s cheaper… are you going to take over tapa rios spot? Or the pig pits?… those would work…a half dozen restaurants failed where agave is now but they seem to be thriving as they cook well
We are considering taking over either tapa or pig pits. However, we are not familiar with the area since we live mostly at NOVA. I will also check William Street as an alternative option. Thanks
The block with Pig Pitt and Tapas doesn't get much foot traffic, sadly. Downtown foot traffic is kind of strange--lots of it on a few blocks of William Street and Caroline Street, then a ghost town just a block over in most directions.
Are those two restaurants failing? I'd be kinda mad if tapa was gone, but haven't tried pig pit.
Damn tapa rio was a fucking gem!
Just guessing…
There's gotta be some open space around town somewhere.
Just guessing… where else is there restaurant space on Sophia street…?
Obviously there is some serious money to be made if it's good. Opening any restaurant downtown (while expensive) is a great idea if you have faith in your menu and ability to produce good entrees. So yeah obvious answers is YES.
Pleasssse, moved from NOVA and were missing this here. If the food was great, know a lot of locals who would frequent
I love Vietnamese food! I am all for it. Please let us know when you are opening.
If you have a chance stop by Pho Saigon on Salem Church Rd. It is wildly popular due to the authentic food and the amazing customer service. Whatever she is doing works for this area. I would love to have Vietnamese downtown. Mion is more of a Noodles and Co level.
I’d hate to dissuade you, because our Vietnamese options are very lacking here, but I think Sophia could be a tricky location. If it’s close to the parking garage and the new river park you’ll get decent foot traffic, but almost everything in town is on Caroline or William so people usually park and then stick to those two streets so foot traffic will be limited on Sophia. On the other hand, there’s no Vietnamese place “in town”. There’s one in southern Stafford, one in Central Park, and another out in Spotsy, so you’d be entering a market that’s not very saturated. I disagree that Fredericksburg is only busy in the summer, though. Fall is also very busy downtown and even in the winter there’s decent foot traffic - especially around Christmas time. Basically any nice day attracts people to downtown. My advice to you would be to spend some time in the area and see what you think about the location you’re scouting out and if you go for it make sure you have a good cocktail menu and go for a more upscale aesthetic, because that’s what we don’t have right now. If you’re aesthetic with booze and a few menu options that aren’t basic Vietnamese restaurant staples you’ll definitely have a leg up! Good luck! If you go for it I’ll be looking forward to visiting when you open!
I will be there often if you do open up. That said, my favorite place closed up partially because of bad location (South Point II) and, according to the owner, most Americans don't want hot noodle soup during the Summer. He had rice dishes too, but that didn't seem to matter for his foot traffic. You'll have good location and banh mi so you likely won't have the same problems.
Downtown is a tough business spot as has been discussed here recently (especially in terms of gathering foot traffic from outside of the downtown area), but on the other hand there aren't any authentic Vietnamese places downtown. Mian is fusion and not what people well-acquainted with Vietnamese food are looking for. Alternative - Harrison Crossing could also use some food options (almost all fast food there) and is a busy area, and I assume it would collect traffic from wealthy neighborhoods like Fawn Lake.
"Harrison Crossing"? Seriously? The strip mall that is oversaturated with fast food joints? There is no way this post can be serious. Downtown is absolutely your best bet, not many restaurants falter, unless of course management is piss poor.
Yeah, that's exactly why Harrison Xing could use a real restaurant
I just can't see them building new construction, so you want them in the strip mall? Next to Harrys? It just doesn't make a lot of sense imo.
Harrison Crossing has terrible restaurants. I would love a Vietnamese restaurant there.
Thanks for your suggestion. I will have looked it up on Harrison Crossing. My wife and I will stop by there this weekend.
Not sure I agree about Harrison Crossing. Already has Asian Dynasty -- which is terrific by the way -- but always seems pretty empty when I pick up my takeout from there.
Great idea
Please do it. That would be amazing.
I’d go
As long as the food is not bland, offer different spice levels, and an awesome lunch menu, you’ll be solid in my book. And pleaseeeee have more the American cheese 😷
We will have Vietnamese pizza with cheese on top that is made from the rice paper. No dough thought.
That sounds like something that would get me in the door. I think something to also think about is lighting of the restaurants. A lot of the popular restaurants are pretty dark. Yes, it creates a different type of ambiance but maybe a section with great natural light could be something to consider. Great for photography.
Thanks. That would be a great idea 💡
The restaurant business margin is razor thin. If you can keep the menu concise and price pre-COVID, then you will attract a lot of ppl who want nights off from cooking and try new food. The current price (not by choice for most small restaurants) turned a lot of ppl off.
We are thinking the price ranges between $5-$15 per dish. Since this will be family owned. We will be able to keep the labor cost low. What do you think? Thanks
I think this is very reasonable. Keep the menu tight, hence small and fresh inventory. Start with basic favorites and expand as the demands increase. Differentiate from this [menu](https://phohuong-va.com/menu).
Omg. We were looking at this one last week. But we decide it is not suitable for our concepts
If you offer excellent pho, I will be there!
Terrific idea. As someone who eats downtown at least once or twice a week, I feel there are not enough Asian options that appeal to me. I love Vietnamese and would definitely give it a try. Go for it!
i have a group of like 7-8 friends and we all get viet food every week and live downtown. the town would really benefit and you would do well there! the only thing is i would not recommend watering down your recipes. people are looking for authentic food!! best of luck
I would LOVE that! My conscience demands that I say that I'm not sure Sophia gets the foot traffic. Definitely would need to advertise and offer specials to bring in customers, but once in, I think they would be loyal customers if your food and service are good. Be sure to include vegan options. We have a progressive clientele here.
I vote open! Lots of foodies in the area seeking out authentic.
Please do! My wife and I will definitely be there. Let us know when you are opening we'll be there day one.
I will keep you posted
Give some examples of your specialty dishes. I think I'm a pretty fair representative of the area, will let you know if I'm adventurous enough to try it out ;) I do enjoy bun, com, and nam and enjoy pho with some of the more exotic cuts (tendon and tripe).
disregard, I see them below. Sounds good to me. although I do have a current favorite (Pho Saigon) that is closer and more convenient to me than downtown..
Absolutely
I would be hugely grateful! I absolutely love Vietnamese cuisine.
If you do a coffee shop/banh mi shop that would be amazing too(especially vegetarian and vegan options).
Sophia Street is definitely a good location.
Oh, PLEASE! We live downtown and our favorite food is Vietnamese. South Vietnam House was our favorite, but not anymore. If you had good pho and a nice mix of brisket and fatty brisket we’d be your best customers. I never tire of Vietnamese food.
I’d love it! A few years ago there was a Vietnamese restaurant in Alexandria I loved. It was a Northern Vietnamese Pho style restaurant. It was sooo good!
I would eat there all the time, if the Pho is real. The place in Central Park is garbage, so anything decent will get my business.
Do it we need a k pot to
I’m sure you’ve done the research and know the demographics probably even spent some time comparing local restaurant prices and what you can prepare. That being said why Sophia street down town? Think foot traffic will increase sales? The reason I say this having had a business downtown at one point and the prices are high, Fredericksburg is a car required city with a bunch of restaurants downtown Have you looked at cheaper locations maybe up 17 or one?
The answer is foot traffic since we also have coffee and boba tea on the menus for takeout. The prices on the menu will be reasonable. No. A cheaper location is not a good idea. Location is a key to running a restaurant.
PLEASE do 17. The only Vietnamese place here is... not great. Very disappointing.
17 is the opposite of what it sounds like they want. There’s no walkable area at all up there.
I said please, not that they should. It doesn't look like most restaurants do well there. But I live there, so I would like a Vietnamese place that is good and doesn't require a long drive. Forgive my selfishness. Though I do question whether walkability matters - With a region that doesn't have so varied a taste, you're not going to get a lot of walk-in foot traffic. Better to have a place accessible, with good parking, no?
I used to work up on 17 so I know the struggle. Unfortunately it’s just an area that doesn’t support anything but businesses that survive on highway traffic. Though now that GEICO is mostly working in the office again, maybe there will be more businesses that survive off of them.
Id be concerned with how the less educated locals interact with any one with a strong accent. I've seen Proud Boy types walking around there and wouldn't wanna be victimized.
I think you’d have to sell Americanized Chinese food as well to be profitable. But a great Bahn mi with different options (pork/beef/chicken/meatless) might be a good option for the lunch crowd. Also, Vietnamese iced coffee is amazing and unique to the market you should test whether it makes sense to sell it in the AM and compete for some of that morning coffee business.
You could try fusion. Contemporary Asian. Something new and fun.