Vietnamese Restaurant Seeks Liquor License From Selectmen

Kevin Nguyen is more than a restaurateur; he is a grateful American citizen who is excited about opening Nguyen’s Vietnamese Cuisine and Sushi Bar on Humphrey Street in Swampscott.

Nguyen will be before selectmen Wednesday, hoping to get a beer and wine license for his family’s restaurant that will open at 286 Humphrey Street if everything goes right, in January of 2013.

“We hope to have a beer and wine license, but we will open our restaurant either way,” Nguyen said from his day job at 114 BMW in Peabody. “We will be open, it’s just a question of when.”

“My brother and I operate Maki’s Sushi Bar in downtown Peabody, and we just got a liquor license approved after being open for close to two years,” Nguyen said. “You can be successful with or without the license, you just have to offer good food and good service.”

Kevin’s family bought the property on Humphrey Street from Beatrice Insurance, who will be looking for another area location later this year.

“Kevin is a very good man,” Peter Beatrice said. “This building (286 Humphrey Street) has a long history, it was a florist shop, it was a Lynn 5, and then it was an Eastern Bank branch, I wish nothing but the best for Kevin and his family here.”

Nguyen’s restaurant will do more for Swampscott than just offer Vietnamese food for folks in the area, jobs will be created, full-time and part-time positions.

“We will have 7-8 full time employees, chefs, sushi chefs and others, and we’ll also have several positions available for part-time staff in the kitchen, in maintenance, and waiters and waitresses,” Nguyen said.

Nguyen was born and raised in Viet Nam and came to America back in 1987, settling in California, where he met his wife Theresa in high school.

“We lived on a boat on the river after the war ended, then we moved to Thailand before coming to America,” Nguyen said. “My sister lived in this area and we loved it, the town of Swampscott, the location next to the water, it’s beautiful.”

“We had never seen snow, and after my daughter (Tram) was born in Hawaii, we came to the East Coast,” Nguyen said. “We love this area, we loved every time we came to Swampscott, and we’re very exited about opening our restaurant here.”

Kevin and Theresa live in Danvers with Tram and Binh, who’s two. Tram is an Honor Roll student at Danvers High School. Theresa runs a salon in Danvers, right down the street from her husband’s office at BWM on Route 114.

“I know 90 percent of restaurants fail, this will be difficult, but I’m not afraid of hard work,” Nguyen said. “I came to this country with nothing so I’m prepared to do whatever it takes to be successful, no matter what happens."

Nguyen has picked up on few things since coming to America, he likes football, and his new favorite team is the Boston Red Sox. Nguyen isn’t the least bit intimidated by a challenge; he was a boxer for over five years, winning several middleweight championships.

“I’m a fighter, I know this will be difficult, but I’m excited about getting our restaurant open and serving something new and healthy,” Nguyen said.  “We’ll have many traditional Vietnamese items on the menu, in addition to the sushi bar.”

Nguyen’s will feature food with many traditional Vietnamese ingredients like lemongrass, Vietnamese mint, Thai basil, fish sauce, mint and ginger, as well as pho, a traditional Vietnamese beef and noodle soup.  Fish, chicken, beef and pork are staples in the Vietnamese diet, and many varieties of seafood. Vegetarians will be please with a look at the Nguyen's menu, many Vietnamese dishes focus on the vegetarian tradition established by Buddhists.

“My brother John and I run the Maki in downtown Peabody, we’ll have several items on both menus, but our Swampscott location will be more of a high-end restaurant, with much more food offerings to choose from,” Nguyen said.

The Nguyen family is shooting for a grand opening date in January of 2013; the location at 286 Humphrey will be completely gutted and renovated for food service. There will be indoor and seasonal outdoor seating for 70-75 people, with a new roof constructed and the walls will be covered with Vietnamese art.

“We own the building and hope to move forward with our restaurant as soon as we can,” Nguyen said. “It’s such a great location, and Swampscott is such a beautiful town, we’re very excited about moving forward.

“Theresa and I hope to take Tram and Binh back to Viet Nam eventually, she is always asking questions about Viet Nam, but right now my family and I are focused on moving ahead and getting Nguyen’s Vietnamese Cuisine and Sushi Bar opened in Swampscott.”