People to Watch 2024: Chefs Thoa and An Nguyen Are Doing It Their Way

Thoa and An Nguyen grew up in the restaurant business: Their parents were the longtime owners of New Saigon before selling the eatery in 2017.

In recent years, the sisters both launched their own ventures. An opened Savory Vietnam in the former home of King's Land restaurant in 2019; it quickly raked in accolades, including an award for Best Vietnamese Restaurant in Westword's Best of Denver issue in 2021 and 2022.

In April 2022, Thoa opened Banh & Butter Bakery Cafe in Aurora, on a stretch of East Colfax Avenue that is in the midst of a lot of change. And there are big changes in store for both sisters, as well.

After a four-year run, An recently announced the bittersweet news that Savory Vietnam was closing; it shuttered on December 15. "I'm the main chef, but I have partners who are older, and we just decided to disperse and go our own way," she says. "Honestly, I'm okay with Savory Vietnam closing, because I've always wanted to do something a little smaller to showcase more of my cuisine, my way." While the details are under wraps for now, she's planning to launch a new venture in 2024.

"Everything happens for a reason. I'm just really excited to see my sister grow into something that she can really call her own," Thoa says, noting that Savory Vietnam was in the same neighborhood as New Saigon, which put a lot of expectations on An to serve traditional, familiar Vietnamese fare. "Now she'll be able to open up her menu and do things the way she wants to do it."
Thoa can appreciate that. "It's the same for me at Banh & Butter. I've been able to make it more my own," she says. Her baking skills gained national attention after she made it to the final round of the Food Network's Holiday Baking Championship in December; while she didn't win the whole competition, she's excited about the exposure it provided her business. "It hasn't even been open for two years yet. I still feel like I'm settling in," she says.

The holiday season has been busy at Banh & Butter, and Thoa hopes to continue that momentum. "I'm feeling really great," she says. "But I am a little overwhelmed. I realize that my days and my times are split — doing interviews and events and trying to get the East Colfax area more recognition while also running a business and being an entrepreneur. But it's a good problem to have, and the support from the community has been really great."

Her 2024 plans include nourishing the community in a new way. "By the end of next year, I would love to be able to launch online courses," Thoa reveals. "My biggest background is coaching and teaching, and I'm not a gatekeeper of my recipes at all. I love to teach people how to do things, and I want to make a whole platform to do that."

The Denver food scene has been enriched in big ways recently by first-generation Asian Americans who have launched businesses like Sap Sua, MAKfam, Thuy by PKR and Yuan Wonton, all of which put their own spin on the cuisines that the owners grew up eating.

Now both Thoa and An are poised to do that in even bigger ways than they have already. "We're going to reach for the stars a little bit," Thoa concludes.

Other People to Watch in 2024:

JR Payne, Head Coach of CU Women's Basketball
Andrea Gibson, Colorado's New Poet Laureate
Mario Nocifera and Robert Champion, Nightlife Kings
Dede de Percin, Head of Colorado Village Collaborative