New Vietnamese restaurant specializes in pho

Name of business: Pho Vietnam
Type of business: Restaurant
Owners: Sandra La and Minh Trinh\
Founded: March 7, 2009
Address: 622 First St., Brentwood
Phone number: 516-5654
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Saturday
Number of employees: four

Products and services: Pho Vietnam specializes in pho, which is a beef noodle dish. Vietnamese food is known for its common use of fish sauce, soy sauce, rice, fresh herbs, fruits and vegetables. They also serve dishes that include pork chops, lemongrass chicken, garlic noodles and Thai items. They offer take-in and take-out menus.

How did you get into the business?: La and Trinh owned a restaurant in Livermore, but had lived in Brentwood for three years. They decided that they should open a restaurant where they live to get to know some of the residents.
"We've lived here all this time and never gotten to know our neighbors because we were always at work," La said.

Best part about the business: "When people are happy with the food and we get compliments from the customers," La said.
She also likes getting to meet all the people from the area.
Worst part about the business: La said that there are only so many hours in the day and she doesn't get to spend enough time with her 7-year-old and 8-month-old children.

Key to success: "What's important is that we deliver quality food at a little price," she said. "We also have to remember the customer is always right."

Biggest misperception about the business: "There are still a lot of people who haven't tried Vietnamese food," La said.
She said that some people believe that Vietnamese food is just like Chinese, but she said that the two cuisines are vastly different in style. "Vietnamese food uses a different kind of sauce than Chinese food."

Future plans: Even though the restaurant has just opened there are still things that La said she wants to accomplish. She said that she is interested in looking into offering a delivery service and she is in the process of getting a restaurant beer and wine permit.