Owner Thinh Le said he moved to Conroe to be with his fiancee, leaving behind him a long career in the casino business. Le said he was able to convert a lot of the existing equipment of a former restaurant at 1406 N. Loop 336 W., Ste. A, Conroe, to open his new restaurant May 21, 2018.
“I put everything I had in this,” Le said. “This is something that I always wanted to do. It’s very challenging. I didn’t know it was that complicated. ... We put in a lot of time.”
Le said one of the biggest challenges has been introducing the area to the Vietnamese cuisine. Le said almost 70% of people who come to his restaurant have never had Vietnamese food before. Plus, he said, people who like Vietnamese food are usually more likely to drive to Houston to get it.
“A Vietnamese restaurant in Conroe is pretty new for the majority of people—pretty new food for a lot of people,” Le said.
Part of that lack of familiarity came up in his hiring. Le said many workers had never made food like his before and required a lot of training. It became so difficult to find workers that Le even let employees live with him for a time when they could not find housing.
As for his customers, Le said he is waiting to bring more classic Vietnamese dishes to the menu until he has a stronger customer base that is more familiar with this genre of food.
“In the future ... I might do a special of the week, so people can learn and people can see if they like it,” Le said.•The restaurant’s most popular dish is its titular pho, a traditional Vietnamese dish consisting of a broth, rice noodles, meat and herbs.
“Everything is about the soup,” Le said. “There’s many different ways people cook pho. Here, we cook pho from scratch. From the bone. We cook over 12 hours.”
In addition to several Asian classics, such as egg rolls, stir fry and fried rice, Le said he revamped the menu six months ago to include some more American food, such as chicken wings, and a kids menu featuring chicken nuggets.
As the Conroe area begins to familiarize itself with his cuisine, Le said he is hopeful for a future with a loyal following.
“This restaurant right here and our food—I think we’re going to have a really good future,” Le said. “I have a very good feeling about this place.”
Fabulous Pho, 1406 N. Loop 336 W., Ste. A, Conroe. 936-703-5356. www.facebook.com/fabulouspho
