Fifty years after the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, the diaspora it set in motion continues to shape the American gastronomic landscape, especially in Orange County, home to the world’s largest Vietnamese population outside of Vietnam.

While the initial wave of South Vietnamese immigrants carved out a thriving Little Saigon district in Garden Grove and Westminster — a welcome development in a region that was then less welcoming of newcomers — a new generation of Vietnamese American chefs and restaurateurs has ventured outside the 714, beyond the bowls of pho and crusty banh mi, gateway dishes that introduced the cuisine of Little Saigon to a wider audience.

Once, the focus was gaining a foothold in the county and serving the community, reflecting the herbaceous, sweet-sour flavors of a lost homeland. Today’s evolution can be seen in the first- and second-generation Vietnamese Americans who are helping shape the culinary conversation in O.C. and beyond.

Four restaurateurs illustrate this trend. Food entrepreneur and creative director Andy Nguyen’s ventures include Rodeo 39 in Stanton, Afters Ice Cream and Trill Burgers, to name a few. Viet Nguyen, executive chef and co-founder of Kei Concepts, has started several eateries where fusion cuisine (for some, a fraught term) highlights cuisines from across Southeast Asia and Europe. Leslie Nguyen, co-founder of Bosscat Kitchen & Libations, Ten Sushi and Miss Mini Doughnuts, went from bartender to food entrepreneur. And Jan Nguyen, founder of The Kickin’ Crab, pivoted from local Vietnamese eateries to a Cajun-inspired seafood chain with locations throughout the United States.Viet Nguyen, Kei Concepts

Born in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nguyen, 39, moved to the U.S. at 16 with a plan to become educated. “A lot of us actually went to China or Europe, but I chose America,” he said. “That was the natural way for us to go out and learn the world and bring all of the practices, business and commerce and bring it back. That was my original intention.”

Landing in the San Fernando Valley, Viet traversed Southern California, living in Burbank, Glendale and Los Angeles, where he worked for various businesses — “I mainly studied IT and finance,” he says — even spending some time in Las Vegas before opening up his first restaurant with his ex-wife in Buena Park. “My first restaurant was Sup Noodle Bar in 2014.”

Sup Noodle Bar, serving northern-style pho and other dishes like lomo saltado, Cajun garlic noodles and Parmesan fries tinged with truffle oil, marked the creation of Kei Concepts, christened after his daughter Keira, with Viet as executive chef and co-CEO and Ivy Ha as co-CEO.

Soon, the brand, highlighting and amalgamating Vietnamese cuisine, would expand Sup Noodle Bar to another location in Irvine. It also added Nep Cafe, billed as a modern Vietnamese eatery with locations in Fountain Valley and Irvine; Kin Craft Ramen & Izakaya, a Japanese spot in Fountain Valley serving yakitori and ramen; Rol Hand Bar, a hand-roll sushi concept in Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley and Irvine; Ini Restaurante, Viet’s Japanese-Italian concept through a Vietnamese lens; Kei Coffeehouse, a cafe offering Asian- and Southeast Asian-inspired drinks like sweet corn lattes and coconut cold brews, in Westminster; and Vox Kitchen, the jewel in Kei Concepts’ portfolio, with locations in Fountain Valley and Costa Mesa offering modern Pan-Asian fare inspired by Chifa, a culinary movement that melds Peruvian and Cantonese tastes.

Viet also opened Gem Dining, a restaurant that tips its hat to Viet’s birthplace, as well as Kei Supper Club, with its private-dining, multicourse fare, both of which are currently on hiatus.

Not too shabby for an idea that came to fruition more than a decade ago.

Viet says his next spot will also be a fusion of Asian cuisines. “In two months, we’re going to open our first Chinese concept, Qua,” a riff on “a Chinese Quarter,” he said. “It’s based on the food of Chinatown, but in Vietnam, so it’s a very specific concept.” It will open inside the same plaza as Vox Kitchen in Fountain Valley.

Jan Nguyen, the Kickin’ Crab

The Kickin’ Crab, a casual eatery that serves Cajun-inspired seafood dishes, first made waves in 2010 in Santa Ana. But Jan’s journey to becoming a restaurateur was far from linear. Arriving in the United States from Vietnam at age 11 shortly before the fall of Saigon in 1975, she navigated various career paths before finding her niche in the culinary world. “I was a Realtor, then I was a loan broker, and then during the recession of the 2000s, I found myself divorced with two kids,” she recalled. This moment spurred her to explore a new direction, leading to her inaugural foray into the restaurant industry with a Vietnamese eatery.

Com Tam Tran Quy Cap, a Fountain Valley establishment serving such dishes as pho and broken rice, quickly found a hungry audience. “It was very, very popular when I opened the restaurant, and we had lines, and we would do really, really well,” Jan recalled. However, after establishing a foothold in Vietnamese cuisine, Jan felt a desire to venture into “the type of food that is more mainstream,” driven by her keen sense of market opportunity.

This passion, coupled with a perceived gap in the California dining scene, led to the birth of The Kickin’ Crab in 2010.

“I like the taste of it, and I feel like there’s a missing part of it in California,” she explained regarding her pivot to Cajun crustacean fare. “You know, I’ve never been to Louisiana, but I’ve always loved the Cajun taste.”

Since its inception, the Kickin’ Crab, with its menu of oysters, fish and chips, grilled shrimp, fried fish tacos, and a variety of crab and lobster options, has expanded to 23 locations across several states, including California, Texas, Arizona, Missouri and Georgia. In 2022, Jan’s entrepreneurial spirit was recognized when she was honored during Women’s Small Business Month as a leading female business owner in Westminster.

Beyond her business savvy, Jan’s love for feeding others remains a constant throughout her life. “I always like cooking, and it’s my passion — I always have enjoyed feeding other people,” she said. Notably, a childhood dental procedure inadvertently shaped her palate. “When I was 11 and I just came to America, I had a root canal done, and part of my tongue totally lost the feeling in my tongue. … I lost part of my taste,” she revealed. Despite this fateful dental visit, her culinary instincts and ability to create flavorful dishes remained strong, perhaps even heightened by her altered sense of taste.

Looking ahead, Jan plans to open a “pretty high level” steakhouse, further diversifying her portfolio. While the Kickin’ Crab menu features a subtle “little twist of Asian” influence, Jan’s focus remains on delivering the flavors of Cajun cuisine to a broad audience.

Andy Nguyen, Rodeo 39, Afters Ice Cream

Raised in Westminster, the 40-year-old entrepreneur and creative director never thought he’d enter the food realm. After a year and a half at Orange Coast College, he ditched textbooks and classrooms for a brief stint in real estate. His first taste, as it were, of the restaurant industry didn’t come from his community or city but instead a blog he wrote for his first clothing brand’s website.

“My first foray into the food industry was with Afters Ice Cream, a hobby project that I started during my days of having a clothing brand,” he said. “I used to have a blog on my clothing brand website, and the topic that became popular was what I was eating for lunch.”

Known for its housemade ice cream, multihued ice cream cakes and its Milky Bun, an ice cream-stuffed doughnut, the dessert chain has since grown to over 25 locations in Southern California, with more planned.

Andy shared that people have expected him to focus solely on Vietnamese cuisine, but he found it challenging to meet those expectations, saying he wants to share different cuisines and concepts for the mass market. “You know, everyone was always expecting me to do it, and I’ve gone to bat at it,” he said. “It’s definitely difficult. It’s not as easy as it seems.”

He has since helped open Houston-based Trill Burgers, founded with Houston rapper Bun B and Nick Scurfield, and One Piece Cafe in Las Vegas, inspired by the eponymous Japanese anime television series.

Most recently, Andy has joined forces with Roll & Co., a Vietnamese spring roll concept in Brea. His latest venture marks a return to his heritage in a way, allowing him to share a familiar aspect of Vietnamese cuisine with a wider audience.

When asked about advice for aspiring entrepreneurs in the restaurant industry, Andy emphasized the demanding nature of the business. “You have to really love the industry. You have to love food,” he stressed, highlighting the importance of a strong core product alongside creative innovation.

Despite the occasional expectation to stick solely to Vietnamese food, Andy remains committed to “sharing different cuisines,” adding his point of view and touch to the market.

Leslie Nguyen, Bosscat Kitchen & Libations

She began her career at 18 as a food server, then as a cocktail server, eventually bartending at various establishments before starting Bosscat Kitchen & Libations with her business partner, John Reed. Before opening the whiskey bar and restaurant, which has four locations, she ventured into the hospitality industry with a sports bar in 2009.

“I was bartending at a sports bar at the time, and I had bartended at every type of bar, from high-end, white tablecloth places to nightclubs to golf courses,” she recounted. “I’ve done it all, and the most fun I had was at the sports bar.”

While her Irvine bar, called Daily Dose Sports Lounge, would close in 2015, it proved pivotal: It’s where she met John, a regular patron who became her business partner. “It was a really small bar, and I did everything, but on a busy Sunday he saw me and asked, ‘Do you need help?’ I looked at him and said, ‘Do you know how to change a keg?’ ” From that point, John joined her, assisting with paperwork, finances and other back-of-house tasks while Leslie focused on drinks and front-of-house duties. “He gradually became my operating partner,” she said.

Leslie harbored ambitions beyond serving drinks during games. She envisioned a legit kitchen, a menu and a focus on rye cocktails. While her Irvine bar offered panini sandwiches, sliders and other pub fare, she desired more. “I want to do whiskey, and I want to have a real kitchen and serve real food,” she explained. “At that time, we both used to drink; he was a Coors Light and Jameson kind of guy, and I was the craft cocktail enthusiast.” (Both Leslie and John are now sober, an irony she acknowledges with good humor.)

In 2014, the two opened their first Bosscat Kitchen & Libations, a 5,000-square-foot whiskey bar concept in Newport Beach that relocated to Irvine in 2022. There, chef Peter Petro serves such Southern-inspired fare as whiskey nachos, pork chop and belly sandwiches, chicken sausage sandwiches, shrimp and grits, creamed corn brolee and more. Under their umbrella company, Daily Dose Hospitality, Leslie and John have also launched Ten Sushi (a seafood spot adjoining Bosscat) and Byblos Cafe.

Her other venture, Miss Mini Doughnuts, involves Leslie making small doughnuts, a business that profoundly affected her life, literally saving it. “I went through a very depressed, suicidal period, probably about two years,” she recalled. “Receiving doughnut orders was the only thing that motivated me to get out of bed.” Listening to Lana Del Rey in the dark, in the wee hours of the morning, tears in her eyes, while making doughnuts for customers helped shift her focus into a more positive direction. “Miss Mini saved my life,” she said, adding that the notes and emails she received from customers helped pull her back from an irrevocable brink.

Leslie also uses her emotions as a creative outlet when designing her venue interiors. “The bird cages are symbolic of me not wanting to feel that depressed state anymore,” she said. “I wanted to free my soul and lock up my addiction, which is why there’s whiskey bottles in the bird cages.”

The entrepreneur credits her mother’s tenacity for inspiring her fearlessness and strong work ethic. “The resiliency my mom taught me is a story in and of itself,” she explained. “She was 16, and her mother was ill when they arrived from Vietnam; her mother passed away shortly after they landed. They placed my mom in the hospital because my grandmother was sick, and that’s where my mom met my dad.”

She further elaborated, “Whether she wanted to teach us that or not, she did it just by doing, you know? She was a single mom because my dad passed away from a brain tumor when I was 4. They met in the hospital, they had me and had my sister, and then he was diagnosed with a brain tumor.” Leslie, born in a suburb outside New Orleans — “I think she picked it because it was the same climate as Vietnam, the humidity,” she explained — arrived in Orange County in 1984, growing up in Laguna Niguel.

The former Aliso Viejo High School student, now an Irvine resident, became a prominent Southern California restaurateur after earning her stripes in the barroom trenches. Bosscat Kitchen & Libations has locations in Irvine and Orange, plus two in Texas (Houston and The Woodlands), with plans for expansion into Arizona and Las Vegas. Ten Sushi operates in Irvine and Houston.

Even as the gastronomic landscape broadens, Little Saigon remains a major artery in the heart of Orange County’s dining scene, a testament to its foundational Vietnamese community. It’s where tradition thrives alongside innovation, seen in successes like Mama Hieu’s Vietnamese Fried Chicken, a pandemic-era pop-up turned brick-and-mortar collaboration between Jimmy Le and his mother, Nho Thi Le, which has quickly garnered a devoted following, as well as 7 Leaves Cafe, which has blossomed from its Orange County roots into a nationwide phenomenon. Founded in 2011 by a tight-knit group, this coffee and tea chain, celebrated for its Vietnamese-inspired beverages and desserts, boasts over 40 locations, introducing Vietnamese flavors to a wider palate while helping Americans wean off Starbucks dependency.

More than simply offering a nostalgic taste of home, the Vietnamese arrival in Orange County reaches far beyond the borders of Little Saigon and Orange County, enriching Southern California, the Golden State and, indeed, the very nation, warts and all, that became their new home.