The restaurant business is fickle to the point of a well-known unattributed business truism: "How do you make a small fortune in the restaurant business? Start with a large one." So when a restaurant not only survives but spawns multiple outlets and brands, it’s all the more impressive. This is the case with Quán Bụi Group, a collection of Vietnamese and Thai eateries and cafes which, like many enduring brands, started as a story of rising from failure.
In 2009, Danh Trần took notice of the popular Bobby Brewers café, an eatery with a hodgepodge Western menu, and had the opportunity to acquire it. Over the next two years, Danh studied how people gathered and used the space. But when his lease was up, the model wasn’t living up to his expectations, especially with many other similar concepts in the market and he decided to close it.
Quán Bụi always offers an inviting entrance to guests.
Reflecting on this first foray into F&B, and with the desire to stay in the industry, Danh tried to devise something that he felt Saigon needed but was lacking. His explorations led him to something familiar.
In September 2011, Danh opened a Vietnamese restaurant, Quán Bụi, on a small street in Tân Định. It was humble, serving set menus to office workers. There, he identified what would become the core elements of the many Quán Bụis to come: home cooking, Vietnamese comfort food, and a meal that imparted meaning beyond the sum of its ingredients.
Quán Bụi Restaurant on Ngô Văn Năm Street.
Two years later, Danh further refined the concept, and a refined version opened as an à la carte format on Ngô Văn Năm that remains to this day. The timing was fortuitous, as Vietnamese dining habits were evolving alongside the arrival of global chains. A customer base had emerged that wanted local flavors made with high-quality ingredients served in more sophisticated yet authentic settings.
At Quán Bụi, Danh found a way to express inherent Vietnamese culture through dining experiences. He believes that a major reason for the restaurant's success is that it provides a space for diners to find comfort in tradition as a juxtaposition to their busy city lives.
Quán Bụi expresses inherent Vietnamese culture through dining experiences.
It seems like this has resonated with Saigon’s restaurant goers as there are now nine Quán Bụi locations operating across the city. Amidst this expansion, Danh strives to ensure that each outlet maintains a continuity of concept from service to food.
The methods of achieving consistency underpin Danh’s subsequent creations. Having found the ingredients for success at Quán Bụi, Danh began to explore other concepts, launching Laang Saigon in 2019 which serves modern Vietnamese and Asian dishes.
Founded in 2019, Laang Saigon serves modern Vietnamese and Asian dishes.
Soon after Laang Saigon came Sicky Rice, a Thai restaurant where Danh applied the successful attributes of comfort and reliability to a neighboring cuisine.
The ambience of Sticky Rice Restaurant
Finally, Café’In focuses on restive settings to enjoy coffee, tea, juices, and freshly baked cakes, popular with remote workers and groups of friends. While serving a smaller menu than the other restaurants, consistency remains a key to its popularity.
Facade of Café In in Thảo Điền.
The common threads of clear conceptualization and commitment to meeting customers’ lofty expectations are most apparent when viewed side by side. Recently, Quán Bụi, Sicky Rice and Café’In can be found under one roof at the newly opened Quán Bụi Group Complex in An Khanh.
Facade of Café In in Thảo Điền.
Success for Danh and Quán Bụi Group was not linear. Like many businesses, the Covid-19 pandemic plunged his operations into disarray, and he was forced to confront uncertainty. He told Saigoneer that to endure, he drew strength from Vietnam’s long history of resilience and was able to restart operations once the pandemic subsided.
Today, after 15 years of opening the first Quán Bụi, Danh is not complacent, nor is he one to sit behind a desk and manage from afar. When Saigoneer met him in the months preceding the opening of Quán Bụi Group Complex, he periodically checked his phone, making sure the right tiles arrived for the flooring and other elements of construction were on track. The trials and tribulations of his journey stay at the forefront of his mind and he still has an active role in nearly every part of his business. The impact of such dedication is something customers will undoubtedly notice when visiting any of his locations.
