Antony Bruno
Audio By Carbonatix
The once-bustling New Saigon Vietnamese restaurant at 640 S. Federal Blvd was a staple on the Denver restaurant scene for close to 40 years before it closed its doors in February 2024. Since then, the space has been boarded-up and silent — but not dead.
This weekend, it will come back to life as Rễ Tre, a new, modernized take on Vietnamese cuisine from the daughters of New Saigon’s former owners. It’s a generational passing of the torch that the sisters hope will spark a similar rebirth of the Little Saigon commercial district where it sits.
After first announcing plans for Rễ Tre in April, siblings An, Thao and Thoa Nguyen will open the restaurant’s doors to the public on Friday, July 3, with a traditional lion dance celebration at 10 a.m., followed by brunch service and dinner that evening.
An and Thoa are likely familiar to Denver diners by way of their existing concepts — An with the popular Dân Dã restaurant at 9945 E. Colfax Ave. in Aurora, and Thoa with the Bánh & Butter Café right next door. The two, along with Thao and their other sisters, grew up in the family restaurant business after their mother, Ha Pham, and her husband, Thai Nguyen, bought New Saigon in 1987, where Pham had worked as a cook.
“My parents had this restaurant for over 35 years, and they were ready to retire,” says Thoa. They tried to rent it to other managers, and even attempted to sell the entire business and the property, but eventually closed it and and remodeled the space entirely.
“It’s been a sad few years of it just being boarded up, lifeless,” says Thoa. “There was nothing there. It’s something that used to be the happening spot. So we wanted to do right for our parents and go back to our roots, which is what the name of the restaurant kind of came to be.”
Rễ Tre is the Vietnamese word for the roots of a bamboo tree, which the sisters are honoring with a menu that pays tribute to traditional Vietnamese fare with a modern twist. At no point did they want to resurrect the New Saigon name.
“We believe that if we stayed with that name, then it would be the same expectations that people would have of what my parents used to bring into the area,” says Thoa. “We wanted to still keep true to the flavors that my mom and dad had created, but also kind of modernize it a little bit, give a little twist to it. And so this is a little bit more modernized.”
That includes a bar menu influenced by Vietnamese flavors, like the Pandan After Dark, featuring coconut and rum flavored with a pandan leaf, and the Moonlight on Mekong, a kumquat Moscow Mule.
As for the food, the aim was to elevate it slightly from Dan Da’s comfort food menu to bring what Nguyen calls a “full experience.” The brunch menu will lean more toward French influences, with rice platters and grilled meats, Vietnamese coffee and, of course, bakery selections sourced from Bahn & Butter. Among the dinner options is a build-your-own format for both spring rolls and noodle bowls, which Thoa says is a nod to how the sister grew up eating.
“We have to bring that, because just such a big part of Vietnamese culture,” she says. “So you get to pick the type of noodles you want, the type of soup base you want, or the toppings and proteins. It kind of gives you a little bit more room for creation at your table and to your palate.”
Rest assured, there are also plenty of chef specials for those without the confidence or knowledge to take matters into their own hands.
To elevate offerings further, the sisters brought in a sommelier to help pair the menu with a curated set of wines meant to complement each dish.
While the sisters have all worked together before, this is the first time they’ve run a business together, which Thoa says has been a learning experience both for her as a businesswoman, and as part of a family.
“My parents have raised us to be very empowered women,” Thoa says. “Everyone’s very firm. Everyone’s very stubborn. But we’ve always had an understanding that we were kind of brutally honest with each other. But always with love.”
We’re looking forward to seeing all that stubbornness and love on a plate starting this weekend.
Rễ Tre is located at 630 S. Federal Blvd. and is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday, with additional hours to come after the grand opening. For more information, follow them on Instagram at @retrevn.
