Ample servings of the American dream

Photo by richard baker

SAIGON IN TACOMA. (Above) Joseph and Theresa Tran, owners of Saigon Restaurant in Lincoln District.

Sometimes smaller is better. The Saigon Vietnamese Restaurant, located at 757 S. 38th St., sits in the midst of several larger restaurants.

According to Jerry Lester, uncle of Boston Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester, “It’s the best Vietnamese food I have ever eaten.” Lester should know. The Vietnam War veteran considers himself an expert of this cuisine. “I developed a taste for Vietnamese food in Saigon. When I want the best I come here.” He never leaves without a bundle of business cards to distribute to friends.

For owners Joseph and Theresa Tran, running a small restaurant can be difficult, especially in these demanding times.

Just getting to the Unites States proved demanding for Joseph Tran. His family originally moved from North Vietnam to South Vietnam in 1954 after the defeat of the French at Dien Bien Phu. His father joined the South Vietnamese Army. As Tran and two of his brothers came of age they also joined the army.

Tran understood that the situation was going badly in the South and that they would eventually be overrun. He started the process of getting out by convincing the American embassy that his wife was American/Vietnamese. He was not sure how it might have helped but he wanted it on record.

When the North repatriated the South, all of Tran’s family was arrested and placed into re-education camps. Their homes and possessions were confiscated by the new government. Finally released, they found themselves without funds and with the need to find work. Tran devoted his time to getting to the United States. Because his first son, Joseph, was born with birth defects, he was able to contact an American diplomat and claimed that the defects were caused by chemical agents. That started the long ordeal of leaving Vietnam.

He eventually got his immediate family to a camp in the Philippines, where they stayed for a year. A group of Americans, learning of their plight, managed to bring them to Tacoma, where he started working in the restaurant business.

About five years ago he opened his own restaurant in Spanaway. As the Vietnamese business community built up around South 38th Street, he sold that restaurant and bought the Saigon Restaurant to be in more familiar territory. Living in Tacoma has been a struggle but he appreciates the opportunity to live here.

Life has gotten better for his family in Vietnam. One brother is a high- school teacher, one works in the hotel business, and his youngest brother, unable to find work, is in the Army. Joseph likes to joke about him saying, “Yes, my youngest brother is V.C.” (Viet Cong).

Although life is difficult here he expects it to improve for their five sons. Their oldest son, Thomas, attends Tacoma Community College; Matthew has been accepted to the University of Washington next year; Marten and Martco are outstanding students at Mt. Tahoma High School and Michael is in middle school.

“Our sons will achieve great things because I serve wonderful bun (vermicelli) and pho (beef noodle soup),” Tran said. “Only in America can a bowl of soup make the success of a family.”

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