Vietnamese sisters Huyen and Tien Khuc moved to Houston from Boston in 2006 after graduating from college. The pair shared a passion for food and a dream to own a restaurant showcasing healthy food alternatives from their native culture.

Known today by their Americanized names, Bee (Huyen) and Ty (Tien), the sisters purchased Ba Mien Bistro in January and have kept the restaurant and its menu intact. As restaurant owners, Bee and Ty are living out a dream they have had for years.

"I always had an idea to run a restaurant," Ty said.

Living in the Spring area, the sisters learned Ba Mien Bistro was for sale after seeing an ad in a newspaper. The previous owners, who had operated the restaurant since 2012, wanted to sell the restaurant to retire and spend more time with their grandchildren.

"I love this setup," Ty said. "The food that I wanted to sell is the same food that [Ba Mien] already had. They [previous owners] put their hearts and minds into it, but they said they believed we could make it better. That's why when this opportunity became available, I just grabbed it."

The young restaurateur said she did not want to change anything about the restaurant. Ty said she kept the same recipes and menu so they could retain the consistency their regulars had grown to love.

Popular dishes on the menu include a pho combo noodle soup consisting of flank steak, brisket and meatballs, Banh Mi sandwiches and vermicelli bowls. Sandwiches are prepared with crispy French bread and fresh ingredients.

Bee takes care of the operational side of the business while her older sister handles the cooking. They also get occasional help in the kitchen from relatives, including nieces and nephews.

However, the sisters did not always plan to operate a restaurant. Both sisters earned chemistry degrees from Bridgewater State University in Boston in 2005. Their mother, Thuy Nguyen, owns a pharmacy in Vietnam and had hoped her daughters would one day return home to go into the family business.

"My mom worried about us," Ty said. "She encouraged us to go wherever we liked, but first we had to get a degree."

The Khuc sisters hoped to transfer to pharmacy school, but said they found the expense and the time required for the career to be a major investment. The sisters moved from Boston to Houston to live near relatives in 2006 and worked as chemical analysts for five years before deciding to change careers.

The sisters decided against pursuing a pharmaceutical career in favor of the restaurant industry.

"We decided to just stop and go to work [in the food industry]," Ty said. "I said to her, '[Bee] why don't we do what we loved and always talked about?' So last September we started looking for restaurants and that's when this one popped up."

Now in a line of work they enjoy, the Khucs said they see themselves running the restaurant for many years to come.

"You never know where life will take you," Ty said. "You don't pick your career. Sometimes the career picks you."