RESTAURANT REVIEW ANH’S KITCHEN By Modern Viet Eats What better way to honor your mother’s passion for 844 Willow Avenue, Suite A3, Hercules | (510) 948-8189 | anhskitchen.com cooking than to open a restaurant named after her, and for her family to work alongside her at the business? That’s exactly what Shelly Nguyen Ha and Cindy Ha did for their mother, Anh, when they opened Anh’s Kitchen on July 23, 2016 in the plaza located just off of the Willow Avenue freeway exit off of Highway 80 in Hercules. Anh’s Kitchen occupies the former Quizno’s Sandwich Shop location in the plaza, just behind Starbucks Coffee. Shelly and Cindy each have full time jobs in Investment Banking and Accounting, respectively. However, the sisters also share their mother’s love of cooking and overall fascination with food. They’d long contemplated opening a family business, and seized the opportunity to do so when space in this plaza in Hercules became available. As they prepare to celebrate their first business anniversary in July, head chef, Anh, and her family, have garnered quite a following of 30 MARKETPLACECONTRACOSTA.COM JULY 2017 Garlic Noodles Vickie Lewis repeat customers who enjoy the phenomenal tastes of native Vietnamese dishes that Anh has perfected over the years. Anh is the mother of five children—Shelly being the oldest, and Cindy, the youngest. In between the two girls are three brothers who are not directly affiliated with Anh’s Kitchen. The family is Chinese, and Anh and her husband emigrated from Vietnam in 1980 when Shelly was a young girl, moving around a bit before finally settling in the US. Here, Shelly’s father worked in construction, and Anh initially worked in a sewing factory, having learned that trade from her father. Eventually, Anh opened a sandwich shop/deli in the Tenderloin in San Francisco, and worked there for 15 years until a real estate boom, during which her landlord wouldn’t renew her lease. Thereafter, she fulfilled her love of cooking by working in Vietnamese restaurants in SF for the next nine years, prior to the opening of the restaurant in Hercules. Anh’s Kitchen is a small, casual dine-in and take out Spring Rolls
Contra Costa Marketplace - July 2017
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