December 1, 2025 • 50 mins
This week, I caught up with longtime Chicago Uptown community leaders and co-owners of the new Haibayô Cafe, Hac Tran and Jennifer “Nuky” Pham.
Join us as Hac and Nuky take us into an intimate look at the history of the Asia on Argyle neighborhood—a historic cultural center for Chicago’s Chinese and Southeast Asian communities for the past 50 years.
The Mission of Haibayô: Their work in co-founding the nonprofit dedicated to cultural preservation and community-building in the Argyle area.
A Personal Legacy: Jennifer “Nuky” Pham shares the legacy history of her father, one of Argyle’s first Vietnamese business owners, and her deep roots in the community.
Community Advocacy: How they curate festivals and events to support immigrant entrepreneurs, artists, and musicians, their fight against displacement, and provide
Future Connections: Their determination to build deeper community connections and maintain the neighborhood’s cultural and historical identity.
Bio:
Hac Tran, Co-Founder, Cultural Planning Manager:
Hac Tran is an urban planner and community development professional dedicated to preserving the Asia on Argyle community in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood. Born and raised in Chicago, Hac has deep ties to the Argyle area. In 2019, Hac co-founded HAIBAYÔ, a nonprofit focused on cultural preservation. Hac’s experience ranges from non-governmental work in Vietnam with Save the Children and Global Village Foundation to community-based casework with various Uptown-based nonprofits to cultural specialist business technical assistance on Argyle through the Uptown Chamber of Commerce. Hac is a Field Foundation 2025 Leaders for a New Chicago Recipient.
Jennifer “Nuky” Pham, Co-Founder, Cultural Events Manager:
Jennifer Pham is a Vietnamese American entrepreneur, cultural organizer, and community advocate born and raised in Argyle, Uptown Chicago. As the daughter of Argyle’s first Vietnamese business owners, she is dedicated to preserving the neighborhood’s identity and resisting displacement. As co-founder of Haibayô, she curates festivals and events that support immigrant entrepreneurs, artists, and musicians. She also serves as a board member of the Uptown Chamber of Commerce and co-owner of Mini Tx Pharmacy, strengthening her advocacy for local businesses and community sustainability.
Contact:
nuky@haibayo.org
hac@haibayo.org
Instagram: hai_bayo
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/haibayochicago
Website: https://haibayo.com/
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:05):
Hey everyone, welcome to the Bund Meat Chronicles podcast.
So I am joined with two good friends of mine, Hawk Tran and
Nookie Fam and they are now the Co owners of Jubail Cafe on
Argyle St. in the Chicago Uptownneighborhood.
The cafe has recently opened up several weeks ago this fall.
Congratulations to both of you. The Asian Argyle community has
(00:30):
been home to many Chinese, Vietnamese and Cambodian
immigrants and refugees for the past 50 years.
And you know, I've known for, I've known both of you for like
several years now. And, and what I've learned about
you is that you have been pavingthe way in preserving the
identity and culture of that community despite the many
(00:52):
threats it has faced with many folks, including the Vietnamese
folks migrating from the city tothe suburbs, the wave of
gentrification that hovers over the CTA construction and so
forth. And hockey, you were on my show
actually in the first season, 2019, which is like 6 years ago,
which is quite, it's quite, it'squite shocking because it's
(01:16):
like, I can't believe it's been that long, but it also feels
forever ago at the same time. And that was when I knew you and
Nokia had already been starting.How about you?
You were doing late night parties in the Asian Argyle
community. And then the pandemic happened.
And both of you were, you know, working closely with these
(01:36):
businesses in the wake of anti Asian hate and the after effects
of the pandemic. And now you're finally open your
Cafe and I want to say congratulations.
And what has that been like for both of you to bring this
long-awaited dream to the neighborhood that we all grew up
in? Yeah, thank you so much, Randy,
(01:57):
for that introduction and also, you know, for, you know, all
your support throughout the years.
Yeah, I can't believe it's been 6 years since the last
conversation we've had. But yeah, I wanted to let also
Jennifer share any words. Sure.
Thank you again, Randy. This has been an incredible
(02:18):
journey and also knowing you through the years and you
attending our late night partiesbecause that's how we started.
And I'm just so grateful to be able to be on this journey with
Hock, my good friend from for many years now, and to be able
to build not only a cafe, but a community space.
(02:41):
Yeah. So what was the genesis in
starting this cafe then? And like what was triggering
this idea? Sure.
Well, I'll, I'll start how well we we, our intention for Argyle
St. was to bring people back to the neighborhood.
I grew up at the in the neighborhood.
My parents were the first Vietnamese business owners.
(03:02):
And both Hack and I have been friends since we were young.
And his parents and my parents were also friends.
And we were just chatting about ways we can bring people back to
the neighborhood because we've seen it change through the
years. And we noticed that meet the
younger generation wasn't spending much time on Argyle
Street. And so we started off as a party
(03:25):
and we had like a late night, you know, fall hour.
We had highlighted Southeast Asian DJs and it was just a, you
know, really fun way to bring people back to the neighborhood.
And from there, it just grew andmorphed into something a lot
bigger than we had imagined. But the intention of bringing
(03:47):
people back to the neighborhood was always there.
And that's how the cafe idea even started, because what
started off as a party turned into a festival.
Then we started to do mutual aidwork and then we started to
apply for grants from the city of Chicago and we were able to
throw festivals and, and throughthese conversations of bringing
(04:12):
people together, We, we, we're just trying to find ways to, you
know, have people be able to work with one another.
And so the idea of having a Cafewhere people can Co work, they
can have conversations and just enjoy having, you know, some
drink and food and, and, and spend, spend time on Argyle St.
(04:34):
after like the later hours. So that's how the idea started.
Rak, do you want to add anything?
Yeah, I think just to kind of echo what Nookie said, you know,
like we started as this pop up party with really no kind of
blueprint of the future. So it kind of organically
(04:55):
happened and we kind of just adapted to the whatever kind of
the world threw at us. But you know, there was always
an intention of like being grounded and rooted in like
community. And you were lucky enough to
have those relationships in the past, you know, just by being
involved in the community in different capacities.
And you know, like, I think likefor the cafe itself, the brick
(05:18):
and mortar, like the opportunitycame up post pandemic.
We were already 5O1C3 at the time, in addition to having kind
of that LLC. So we're kind of a social
enterprise model where we both have a business side, but we
have a strong nonprofit wing as well.
And you know, the opportunity arose post pandemic where the
city of Chicago was offering, it's called like the Chicago
(05:41):
redevelopment or CRG grant, which was like investing in
construction capital projects that have strong like basically
impact to certain communities ofcolor throughout the city.
So that was a great opportunity.We spoke with Ellen from Q Ideas
(06:03):
because she also like has the space on Argyle and she kind of
took over the business and was thinking about like either
shutting her doors or downsizing.
So it was like a, a great opportunity to, for, for us to
come together and reimagine like, hey, let's apply for this
grant. You know, it might be a long
shot if we get it, then we move forth and like, to our surprise,
(06:25):
like we were able to get this grant that really helped
redevelop and reimagine the space that we have here today.
So it's a very symbiotic relationship between like 2
ideas as well as Jaime, Yo, in terms of like creating this kind
of social enterprise model that has different identities that
coexist within the same space. But like, like Nookie said, I
(06:46):
think it's really critically important that what we're
creating is like not just a cafe, right?
I think I, I think the Cafe allows us to utilize the space
that we've developed for people to come here, connect as a third
space when we weren't really going to utilize the space
anyways. So I think that's like a, an
(07:06):
opportunity that we saw fit for the community.
So we kind of pursued that route.
But yeah, I think it's been, I guess at now like 3 weeks or so,
2 1/2 weeks of opening the Cafe and it's been, you know, like
we've gotten traction and it's good to see, you know, people
reach out, wanting to utilize the space, collaborate, bring
(07:29):
their own ideas. Like tonight we have a, an open
mic night. It's from Gen.
Z Filipina X community member who frequented our cafe and
wanted to just host something. So we're collaborating on that
front. So, so like, you know, like to
provide spaces is ultimately thegoal of like drawing people back
(07:52):
here, having dialogue of community, culture, heritage,
but also providing platforms foryounger people to think about
how they can contribute in a vision, the future of Argyle.
I really appreciate this being up for both of you to like, you
know, share the journey in creating this space and what I
(08:15):
actually I visited the space about actually back in May.
It was like before it was officially open months before it
was opened. And, and I was like walking
through, it's like, wow, this issuch a beautiful atmosphere.
And there were like homages to old Vietnamese pop stars of the
(08:35):
80s and 90s. And, and then I also saw like
one of the big signs. I can't remember what storefront
it used to be from, but that blew me away.
You know, it's like it started bringing conjuring up some very
old memories and, you know, justwalking around, it's like, wow,
this is this is what it means topreserve the history of the
(08:55):
streets. I mean, this is a street that I
used to go to growing up as a kid.
I mean, me and my brothers and my family would always go there
every weekend. And back then I used to hate
those trips because this was before.
I mean, if I had a cell phone, if I had an iPad at the time,
then maybe I wouldn't, it wouldn't, I wouldn't have
suffered as much. But I mean, I'm a very rosy kid.
(09:16):
So I was like for for an hour onthat car.
It was brutal, but but I always find a lot of nostalgia coming
back and I always have these weird memories about what this
place used to be. What was what was that business
before Q ideas and Javio came in?
What was that business? Because I thought it was Sun Wah
(09:38):
for some reason, because someoneused to be over in that area,
that specific spot. So yeah, it's, it's for me.
It's like I always. Oh, really?
Yeah, original Sanwa. Original Sanwa building, but
before then it was like a Japanese gift shop.
Like I think even before our time, because I look at old
images of Argyle and it was likethis Japanese gift shop, which
(10:01):
is like interesting because likenow like Cue Ideas is kind of
like represents that. But yeah, it's a fun while.
So where the cafe is in the backis where they were roasting
ducks and stuff. Oh, wow, that that's what I was
thinking of. Like this is going to be like
where someone used to be. And so I mean, this also kind of
(10:22):
goes to show you like the many changes that have happened in
the past, say 40 years. And a lot of the parents that
that used to frequent there or own these businesses have now
since retired. And nookie, I know that this
year has been very tough with the reason passing your father,
(10:44):
but I think it's important to talk about your father's legacy
here because he was one of the first Vietnamese owner in or he
had he had the first Vietnamese owned business on that screen.
It was mini TX pharmacy, which now stands in which you have
also been, you know, leading andtaking over that business.
(11:06):
But what was going through your dad's mind when he decided to
open up this business and what was his experience prior to
coming to America? Like why the why the pharmacy?
Why? Why?
Why that in particular? What was about Argyle that made
it very intriguing? So my my dad was a pharmacy, a
(11:29):
pharmacist in Vietnam and, and he also had a pharmacy also on a
corner in Vietnam, in Guanghai, which is like the middle of
Vietnam. And he ended up losing
everything from the war and fledto America.
And his when he first came here,both my mom and my dad ended up
(11:54):
in Iowa. And Oh no, they ended up at Fort
Chaffee in Arkansas, a refugee camp.
And then they saw that there wassome opportunity in going to
school at Iowa. So they ended up at the
University of Iowa. And my, at that time, my grandma
lived in Chicago, which is my dad's mother.
(12:15):
And so my dad ended up going spending time in Chicago right
after he went to school. And so there were at that time,
there were Uptown was done to, you know, nonprofit
organizations and they were helping a lot of the Vietnamese
refugees. And so my, my dad ended up
(12:38):
working right by Truman College at a pharmacy, right like across
the street. And he noticed that there were
many Vietnamese people in the neighborhood and he started to
translate the, the prescriptionsin Vietnamese.
And so he really, I think, I think it was just kind of, you
know, there was just so many Vietnamese people in the
neighborhood and, and he saw a need for it.
(13:01):
And when my mom got out of school, she ended up choosing
the, the building that the pharmacy is at right now.
She just thought a corner would be really beautiful.
And there were a couple of Asiangrocery stores close by and, and
the, the price was right. And so they ended up, you know,
(13:21):
signing a lease and my dad down the road ended up purchasing the
purchasing that part of the building and, and they were able
to open up their pharmacy. And it wasn't only a pharmacy.
The, the name of the pharmacy iscalled Mini Kung SA pharmacy,
which means mini mall. And so they also had a video
(13:43):
rental shop and it was also the first music shop on Argo, which
is interesting. And they sold fabric and you
know, really just whatever people wanted and needed at the
time. Like people were like folks were
asking for movies that were dubbed in Vietnamese and, and
music and they wanted to get their film developed.
And so anything like people wereasking for, my dad ended up
(14:05):
providing or bringing on people that could provide that.
Yeah, I think what I remembered back in the day was like, yes, I
do remember it was a video rental store too.
It there was a, it felt like there was a different
storefront, like besides just the pharmacy.
I was like, wow, this is very unique.
And was it like that? Was it very similar to what was
(14:26):
it like back in the homeland? He his, his no, no, he his.
His pharmacy in Vietnam was justsolely a pharmacy, nothing else.
And, and you know, it's interesting because I, we
weren't able to have conversations about his past up
until, until right before his passing because I think it was
(14:47):
too difficult to, for him to share about his past.
And he, he would sometimes get angry, you know, when I would
ask questions. And I think it was just tough
for him to be able to talk aboutit.
And so he, I don't know too muchof the detail, but I do know
that it meant a lot to him. And the the building where the
(15:09):
pharmacy was in Guanghai was, was owned by my grandmother at
the time. So this legacy business
continuing. Yeah, I'm also like in
continuing this part, but I remembered there was a story
that your dad was about to sell that business.
And Oh yeah, this. Was like several years ago and I
(15:31):
mean I was, I think I was hearing it on a podcast that you
were on and I was like busy cleaning my apartment and I
almost like literally stopped. I literally just dropped my
broom when I heard that your father was about to sell it.
I think it was to ACVS if I'm not mistaken.
Yeah, yeah, correct. Honestly would have completely
changed the face of that community.
What was going through your dad's mind at that time when he
(15:53):
was looking to sell that business and how did how was he
convinced to not sell that? So he at the time CVS multiple
times had reached out to him andwanted to purchase the business.
And my my dad for many years, hewasn't interested, but he he did
(16:14):
notice like, you know, he's getting older.
My parents were already thinkingabout a retirement plan and both
his kids, my brother and I weren't interested in pharmacy.
And, you know, he just really like for him, I think the, the
idea like he wanted us to take it over, but we, both my brother
(16:34):
and I weren't interested. And so my, my dad, you know,
bought up the idea of selling the pharmacy.
And, and that's when I realized like, oh, damn, you know, like
this, this, this is something that could end up being just
part of the past. And it didn't sit right with me.
And, you know, I started to giveit some more thought and I, I
(16:57):
realized at the time that, you know, I wanted to continue what
he created, but, but maybe in myown way, because at the time I
was in the acupuncture school and I, I, I, I, I'm more, I was
always more interested in like alternative medicine.
And, and so him and I both had aconversation and we were
(17:18):
thinking of ways that we can continue the business because I
felt that the community needed some alternative ways of
healing. And so I, I, I bought up idea of
like, you know, like, let's let's add more supplements,
let's add more essential oils, just like, you know, just little
things just to add to the pharmacy.
And he was, he was open to the idea.
(17:40):
And so I was like, OK, yeah, let's make it at east meets W
pharmacy. Let's bring, you know, like get
the younger generation involved and and yeah, he was interested
in and then from there we we were able to continue the
pharmacy. I'm also a bit curious about
like the way the pharmacy is, especially as the Vietnamese
(18:03):
elder population is aging and passing away like, and also with
the competition to like, you know, of course, with CVS,
Walgreens, Target and so forth, How has this business been able
to sustain itself despite the many changes that have happened
in that neighborhood? We have a strong relationship
(18:24):
with the, the patients that comein.
And I think because they've beencoming for so many years and,
and we, we know the families well, I, I think just from
there, it's just that, that community oriented connection is
what sets us apart from, you know, like a Walgreens or
something. The, the, the folks like the,
(18:47):
the pharmacy technicians, including the pharmacist, also
my partner, like they're constantly checking on the
patients as well. Like they know them by name,
they know their sons, they know their daughters.
And, and I think it's just like this strong connection that has
always been there. And, and so that's been nice.
So they'll, they'll come, they'll drive in from the
(19:08):
suburbs just to pick up their medication, which I, I'm, I'm,
I'm so grateful for that. We still have that connection,
but the area is changing quite abit.
And, you know, it's, it's, it's harder for the older folks to
come pick up their medication sothat, you know, the, their kids
or their grandkids will come pick up the medication.
(19:28):
But yeah, it's, we're, we're thinking of ways to, to connect
with the, the, the changing community now.
Like we're, we're actually remodeling the space and we're
getting a new sign and you know,just updating it to bring it
into the new yes. Yeah, if you, if you, if you had
that old sign, I think you had to bring it back to the Habayo
(19:49):
Cafe, just like. You.
I think you have to 'cause that's a landmark like, like I'm
like, I am a person who believesin preserving history.
So I really hope that that you. Make sure that you take that
sign with you too. Oh, yeah, yeah.
No, no, We're preserving all thesigns on Argyle as if if we're,
if we have the opportunity too, we will.
(20:11):
Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely.
Hopefully you want to. Hopefully you have enough space
at some point, you know, But like, who makes space?
Yeah. Yeah.
And for Huck, like what really LED you to.
I know this is a very low question, but maybe more
specifically, like what, what, what amped up your need to to
(20:32):
invest into this community? What what makes hobby well, what
makes Argyle so special to you that you feel the need to to
make this part of your experience?
Yeah, for me, you know. Like I didn't live on Argyle St.
my my father lived here. But when, you know, my parents
(20:54):
got married, they moved out to the West side of Chicago and
then eventually to the suburbs. But they were always involved,
like my mom worked as a secretary for VAI in the very
early years and then my dad was on the board throughout the 90s.
So I was always here. But like for me, like the
origins sort of my connection toArgyle actually is because of
Argyle. My parents met each other on
(21:15):
Wake Island, which is like rightafter leaving in 75 April 30th,
they went to Wake Island. It was like a, a military US
island or whatever. And my dad was like teaching
English and my mom was his assistant at the the refugee
camps. And then also like similar to
Nookie's parents, my parents also went through Fort Chaffee
(21:36):
or Chaffee in Arkansas. My dad was sponsored by a
college here in Chicagoland. And then my mom actually was
sponsored by like a Lutheran Church, her family to Milwaukee,
WI. But I think it was like the snow
storm of like 78 or 79 or whatever, or maybe even 77.
I can't remember the year. But back then there was not like
(21:59):
not many Vietnamese restaurants.So actually one of our family
friends, Nookie Mukhman, they used to live on Sheridan and
Argyle in that building where the tattoo place is now on the
7th floor. So they live there and they used
to sell pho out of their house. And then they had like mahjong.
So my dad was there that night, like gambling and eating pot.
(22:22):
And it was like the same night my, my mom and her friends from
University of like Wisconsin, Milwaukee, they're like, Hey, we
want to go to Chinatown, Chicago.
But then because of the snowstorm, like one of her
friends heard like, oh, well, there's this Argyle.
And then we heard about this person's house that they sell
fall off from. So they're like, OK, well, it's
(22:42):
closer. So let's go there.
So they, my mom was there and like, they like crossed paths
again and my dad saw her, got her address and phone number and
like, that's how they started reconnecting again.
So he will like write letters toher and then go through there
and visit. And like, because of like Argyle
Street and like that very initial, you know, like place of
(23:06):
like home after being, you know,fleeing your home and building
community. Here is how my parents
reconnected. So like, you know, I, I, there's
like Argyle to me is like home, even though I never like live
physically on Argyle. But you know, like, for me, like
I, I never had the intention to be here actually.
(23:28):
So like I studied during my likecollege years.
I went to DePaul for like, political science and like
sociology, International Studies.
And I actually studied abroad inVietnam in O6IN, Hanoi.
So I studied abroad in Hanoi. I came back.
I never wanted to be in Chicago.And then the following year I
went to Budapest, Hungary. I studied there.
(23:49):
And then like immediately when Icame back and graduated, I moved
back to Vietnam for three years.And then I, you know, came back
here with the intention of goingto Graduate School, which I did.
I did a master's in urban planning and policy in
international planning with the intention of like, hey, I'm
going to move back to Vietnam and do International Development
(24:11):
work because I was like involvedwith like Save the Children,
another organization. I lived in central Vietnam, the
author and film maker author lately, Hayslip in California.
There was a movie Oliver Stone made about her called Heaven and
Earth. She was actually my boss in
Hoyats. So doing a lot of development
work with like really like deep Roe communities in the
(24:35):
mountains, so that we did a lot of different types of like flood
mitigation work, you know, job development stuff like in
Vietnam. And that's what I wanted to
pursue. But like during my time in
Graduate School, like I was working at Southeast Asia Center
and like started getting involved back into the
community. This is probably like 2012
(24:56):
through 2014 where I like started like seeing like, hey,
Argyle is really changing. Like it's no longer this even
back then like 1213 years ago, right?
Like it was different than like what I remembered in the 90s and
even early 2000s. So like a lot of my research
pivoted my masters project pivoted to, to create basically
(25:20):
my masters project was called like street access and it was
like a social enterprise food entrepreneurship program with a
Cafe element for Argyle St. backthen.
But then like that's where when I reconnected with nookie, like
a lot of things, her ideas. So I had like an, a basis of
(25:40):
like, hey, man, eventually maybewe could do this.
But like when we came together, like we, we created javio and
it's like a kind of a fusion of her ideas, really great ideas
because she's so creative. And then, you know, like this
food entrepreneurship Cafe idea,I think that was like a somewhat
of an unspoken basis for what weare today.
(26:01):
But like we never sat down like,hey, this is the blueprint,
right? But like, I think that's how it
how I got recommitted to the street as like a caseworker,
getting to know the community members again.
And then like I work for the Chamber of Commerce in the last
eight years. I laughed earlier this year
being able to develop like really strong relationships with
(26:23):
like business owners and land owners of this community.
So like, yeah, I think like all those kind of experiences
coalesced alongside, you know, the developing relationship of
like a rekindling of friendship with nookie and like creating
hyper yo to like internally decide like, hey, I'm committed
(26:44):
to to Argyll again. Yeah.
I think to see this come to fruition and also how you came
about it is like it's almost serendipitous.
Like you, it's not something that you would think of like
when you first began this work and and at the end of the day,
it's like you start to think about those relationships and.
(27:05):
When I look at the the. Current landscape of Argyll Now
I know that there's some empty storefronts too.
I know that they're usually during the summer there's like
the the night market on Thursdayevenings, but what does it look
like for the future, especially for Vietnamese and other Asian
owned businesses on that street?What are we looking at in the
(27:28):
next in the future if you have acrystal ball?
Yeah, I could take a stab at this.
So like one of the, so like the nonprofit end of Jivio, like we
kind of have 4 kind of key areas.
Like, you know, we're a very young nonprofit and we have like
(27:50):
there's a fellow who have has jumped on board as a consultant,
Jefferson Mock, who has a lot ofspecial nonprofit development.
He's helping like kind of establish the nonprofit
alongside me and Nookie to, you know, grow it.
But kind of the four key areas of the nonprofit itself, like 1
of it actually involves like this idea of like vision
(28:14):
planning for the future and that's the Regenerate program.
So we have like 1 is activate iskind of like to re introduce
like a lot of the cultural programs that we have like the
cultural festivals. So we've done, you know, like in
May, like the API block party, we just like collaborate with a
bunch of other organizations forthe Mid Autumn Moon, but we want
(28:36):
to kind of expand it again to like what we did in 21/21/22.
Regenerate. That program is about like
thinking about like urban planning, succession planning of
businesses and like, also like kind of recruitment of like
young Asian American entrepreneurs to like cover
those, you know, vacant storefronts and, and create
(28:59):
like, you know, regenerate the area to like sustain this
cultural identity. So we are applying, we awaiting
several grants which unfortunately like right now
like it's very hard to obtain grants, especially under this
administration. But like that is like kind of
the pathway to answer these questions, right?
(29:20):
And it's a lot of work, right? There's never one stop solution
to these things. So, you know, I think the first
thing we can do is like what I want to do for 2026 in the
beginning of the year, maybe quarter 1 is like creating like
a group of stakeholders, business owners, land owners,
(29:41):
second generation people who have taken over to, to create a
like a, a conversation. Like I want to invite them here.
Maybe eventually we create a steering committee to have like
a seat at the table in terms of planning decisions that exists
kind of right now beyond us. So like, you know, like Argyle
itself, why it's Argyle was because of like multiple
leaders, that of the past, like Charlie Sue was one of them,
(30:04):
right? He was considered the mayor of
Argyle, but he had his own organization that really worked
directly with City Hall to be the representative of the
businesses of the community. And once he passed, like that
kind of disintegrated. And a lot of like these seats at
the table were absorbed into theUptown Chamber of Commerce,
(30:26):
which like have some people likefrom the community on the board.
But like, I think like. Kind of how do we think about
that motto and like build very hyperlocal power amongst
stakeholders in this community to have the seat at the table to
(30:46):
have an input and a voice in terms of like planning,
investment, redevelopment projects that occur and impact
our community. So like what that entails is
really first step is like building that coalition.
So that's like something that we're looking towards.
But then of course, you know, like through that coalition,
(31:07):
there's issues of, you know, vacant storefront.
So like, how do we think about succession?
How do we think about leveragingfunds from the city to redevelop
projects of like certain buildings that maybe building
owners don't have enough money to fix?
Thinking about like Co-op modelsof like purchasing a retiring
business right there. There's models like that exist
(31:30):
already in different kind of diasporas in like Houston and
Seattle in these like neighborhoods that are like of
Asian descent that we don't haveto reinvent the wheel.
Like next week, CBDCAC Grace hasthis whole forum that talks
about these things for Chinatown, which I'm attending.
So like, how do we look at like other organizations doing very
(31:51):
similar things that have done italready and learning from them
and collaborating and partneringwith them to do that here?
So that's like one of the programs that have a yield, a
nonprofit is really trying to engage in thinking about
preservation, but like actionable steps towards
preservation. And since the cafe's opening a
(32:13):
couple weeks ago and also coinciding with the CTA stop
finally opening up after a few years, now, ICE raids have been
happening all over Chicago, specifically on the North Side
as well. How has that impacted Argyle
Street and how have how has Havaio?
(32:35):
How have both of you responded in the wake of the ICE raids?
Yeah. And also and also on the snap
cuts as well too, because that'salso very important for a lot of
the community and I don't want to miss on that too, yeah.
Yeah. So I could share briefly and
(32:55):
also nookie, I know that you have, we have like plans in
motion for a lot of these thingsin response.
So like, yeah, we've like I'm inconstant conversation with the
people who are part of the rapidresponse groups.
We who's The Who you know well, and also he's like chief of
staff for Juan. He's like I'm in constant
conversation about like, you know, when S rights happen, he's
(33:21):
informing me and I'm like potentially informing other
business owners. We were just at a conference
actually the day before, the same day where Juan actually sit
right Huan where eyes pointed a gun in his face, like I we were
in the I was in the same meetingwith him.
It was about like, hey, knowing your rights as business owners,
it was at VAI and we were there together and like, they were in
(33:42):
the car and they're like, hey, see you later.
And then that happened, which islike, pretty insane.
But yeah, it's been, it's been scary, right?
Like the state of the world, like this is not like a system
that I've ever imagined living in, right?
It's it, it strips away so many rights of just like human
(34:05):
rights, you know, it's, it's, it's I don't know.
I think we all kind of agree that this is like unprecedented
and scary, But that doesn't meanthat like we just, you know,
shake our shake and fear. It's it's about like building
collective power and having thatknowledge.
I know that Alan is part of a group that is going to be on
watch for the Gowdy students with whistles and like for them
(34:29):
to get safely to school and safely home.
And there's a, but I'll let you know, nookie talk about like
kind of the programs that we arethinking about in regards to
both ICE and SNAP. There's been collaborations
about potentially holding something here regarding like
knowledge based stuff for business centers and community
(34:49):
members regarding ice raids. But also like maybe you know,
I'll, I'll let you talk about the SNAP stuff as well and the
ice potential ice programming. Yeah, well, we've, we've been
sharing as much info as, as, as possible and also educating
ourselves. And as far as the SNAP benefits,
like we since we just opened, I mean we were planning on having
(35:11):
a, a shelf of non perishable items so that we can like put
continue to to add to the shelf.And then if anyone needs food
then they can just take it. So it's kind of like a, you
know, give, give what you can, grab what you can type of
program. And I mean, really it's just
(35:33):
like, like Cox said, it's unprecedented times.
And we are just trying our best to gather as much information as
possible and also share as much as possible, but also continue
to cultivate joy. Because while this is all
happening, one thing that is sometimes difficult to do is to
continue the joy and, and to continue coming together in
(35:56):
community. And so, yeah, it's, it's, it's
kind of, you know, I would say it's difficult to navigate
through, but we're still making it happen.
That's it. Yeah.
And how are the elder Vietnamesefolks that have known Argo for
so long, how have they respondedto the work that's being done?
(36:18):
How have they responded to the changes that have happened over
the years? I mean, is there like a
lamenting, like, I hate to see this go away.
I'm curious to see what your thoughts are, especially with
you trying to honor the elders who have come before, but also
trying to bring in second generation Vietnamese folks and
(36:39):
other Asian folks to to invest their time in there.
Yeah, I think and I've always felt that in order to move
forward in a positive manner, I think that it's important to
share the history of what was there before us.
And for like any opportunity we have to connect with the elders,
(37:04):
we do and we, we oftentimes likethey, they share their
experiences. And, and it's like high Bayou is
like meant to also be a space for healing and healing between
the generations. I always felt that there was a
gap between the generations. Like growing up, my, you know,
parents had their own experiences, but it was, it was
(37:25):
too painful to, to share. And also me growing up as an
American, I also didn't understand their hardships.
And, and so I, I think through the years I've, I've been able
to heal my relationship with my parents, but that also echoes
into the, the healing that is within the community itself.
(37:48):
Because my experience is not only my experience, I also
noticed that it's like my friends are also going through
the same thing as well. And so being able to bridge that
gap and to allow the older generation to be able to share
their experiences has been, I think, very monumental in, in,
(38:08):
in our growth as high. But yo, the older folks have
been coming into our space and, and they, they love it.
They love to see the old signs. They, they love to try the new
drinks as well. And they love seeing the younger
community being so excited to, to, to, to like be in a space
where you see the old signs. And, and so it's, it's, it's
(38:31):
been really beautiful to see andto create.
Yeah, I think it's. Oh, yeah, sorry, Randy, just to
add a little bit to that, like there are like on the nonprofit
and like in the past that we've done like a lot of kind of
healing events, but additionallylike oral history kind of
programming. And that's like another kind of
(38:51):
thing that we want to strengthenfor the future is like really
document and record both auto like visual and audio of like
lived experiences of long term community members from this
diaspora. To have that lamented in like
history, right? And like to have that honored
and recorded, I think that's really important of archiving
(39:14):
these experiences. So that's like a program that
we're also kind of navigating for the future as well.
I am thinking about like what other ways are you using the
space? I know you want to make it more
community oriented and I'm very curious, are you working on any
partnerships or any collaborations with other
organizations or groups? I'm curious to see what ideas
(39:36):
you're looking to create for thenext year, if you could share
that. Yeah, well, we've been, there's
been quite a bit of like a lot of organizations who have been
reaching out to us who want to collaborate.
And I I think with high by yo, we've always it it, it's never
rigid. It's always, it's always been
(39:58):
very creative. Like we come up with ideas and
then if like, say you Randy, like you had an idea and you
wanted to do something on in in our space, you know, we just
chat about it and then we createsomething together and.
Beautiful because there's no like one way and but I I do have
to say like you know it's it's always rooted in creativity with
(40:21):
music, with food healing, sharing stories and and so just
I would. Say like a wide array.
Of ideas really it's like it's in many ways it's a blank canvas
of, of what you want to create, but there's always a, a healing
aspect to it and culture, culture forward.
(40:46):
Yeah, and and just to add to like in.
Terms of like already existed partnerships and collaborations.
Like just yesterday we had a, wehosted, you know, Lenny's office
for their participatory budgeting meeting, which like
allows platform for like residents of 48th Ward to like
have a key role in like where the money is spent.
(41:07):
Also with the AI, they're doing their youth like providing space
for kind of the youth organizingwith Huang the last two
weekends, but also like, yeah, just like providing space.
But also we also were engaged with collaborating in terms of
youth education this past year, but we worked with Stomping
(41:29):
Grounds Literary Arts Initiative, who's Algen who been
like kind of the resident DJ of Uptown for many years, but he
also runs a a nonprofit. So we provided audio production
Zenes, comic book illustration classes as well as I think like
(41:53):
narrative storytelling to like youth 5th to 8th grade, like at
Gaudi at McCutcheon. And also recently, like I'm in
conversation now of the newly formed, like Friends of Gaudi
board that I'm joining to like think about like fundraising of
how to like, you know, give backto the youth in our space.
(42:14):
So like there's like multiple layers and multiple platforms of
collaboration that we we are always open to and want to like
strengthen. Yeah, I know.
I know my friend Tony. And I were like saying that we
really need to have like a Vietnamese language exchange
here. So I, I mean, I'm trying to
learn my Vietnamese too. It's still pretty choppy.
(42:34):
Like if, like if I say, I don't know if you're able to
understand that. Yeah, I understand.
You've been setting me to me. Since June.
Nice work. Yeah, it's a hit or a miss.
It's really a hit or a. Miss with a lot of folks because
(42:55):
like either they understand me or they completely don't.
So it's like, yeah, but I do better with the writing,
surprisingly. So I've been catching up on that
instead. But yeah.
But I hope that there will be more opportunities for that too,
because I think that the the possibilities are endless.
What would you say are your favorite recommended must haves
on the menu of the cafe? Yeah, the the.
(43:23):
Cafe Muy is delicious and the the coffee is is a collaboration
with Fiat 5 and Sup Doc called Too High.
So it's like a after after roastcoffee and and it's made just
like Cafe SUA with the condensedmilk and then we add Muy on top.
(43:44):
So it's like a salted foam. It's delicious.
So I highly recommend that. And the matcha, the matcha
lattes is really good. The matcha is from Felician Tea
and it's single origin. It's a Chinese mocha and it has
a beautiful flavor. So I recommend those too.
(44:06):
Yeah. I I recommend I'm.
Usually like just straight blackcoffee.
The bitter, the better. But I think like why I want to
do why I do want to kind of spotlight is that on the cafe
side, we're very intentional about where we're sourcing the
beans, right? Like 1-1 at VIT 5 has his own
farm. It's like single origin direct
(44:27):
from his family in Vietnam. Annie from Volition works
directly with farmers to really kind of spot like the art and
craft of these tea leaves. Very high quality single origin
and and then also our our our other beans, the Arabica beans.
We work with Mikey Indonesian American roaster here in Chicago
(44:48):
that also really has like strongconnections to like farmers
about Southeast Asia, very smallemerging coffee farmers.
So like, you know, like whateverthe drink may be.
I think like knowing that kind of pathway and like that
intention of like sourcing really high quality stuff, but
also like, you know, impactful way for that honor kind of the
(45:10):
farmers themselves. For me, I just like a straight
black coffee iced, but that's either the Vietnamese one or the
Arabica ones. Robusta or Arabica I like.
But yeah, I do like the the Vietnamese salted cream coffee a
lot. That's great.
I came. Up with the recipe.
Too. Yeah, awesome, awesome.
(45:31):
Just been. Batching it.
Yeah. Like I.
Don't drink alcohol anymore. And I've also had to watch out
for my sugar intake. So it's like I.
But I still have the guilt of taking Cape soda sometimes.
But I do like to drink. I'm actually starting to like
cold brew, which I never thoughtI would like, but here I am like
years later, like, oh, OK. This is like a necessity.
(45:54):
I look at it as a necessity because I need to stay awake.
But yeah, like, also shout out to VFI because I am such a huge
fan of Dunn's work, Twan's work.And I'm also thinking about for
both of you, when you look back on all the hard work that you've
(46:14):
been putting on laying the groundwork for this to finally
open, What are you most proud ofright now at this moment?
Yeah, yeah. Well, for me is building,
building this community has, hasbeen the most fruitful and
(46:38):
rewarding thing that I, I, I feel so proud of.
And it's it's not just like it'snot.
It's not just like building. Of the community but but
finding, finding those who didn't always feel connected to
home right to be able to feel proud of who they are where they
(46:58):
came from and to also like be able to have this platform here
where people can share about their experiences.
We've, we've had, you know, likeadoptee stories shared in our
space or like Vietnamese folks, like who grew up here, who, you
know, always felt uncomfortable being, being Vietnamese or, or
(47:19):
like Vietnamese, Cambodian or black, you know, like, and, and
you just have this completely different experience.
And so I, I've, I've always feltin many ways disconnected from
the community just because I always felt so different.
And so I, I've always wanted to create a space where people feel
welcome to be who they are and to be able to shine in their
(47:43):
own, in their own light. And, and, and so I, I, I'd say
I'm, I'm most proud of that and excited about that.
Yeah. I would have to echo that.
That same feeling as well, you know, like.
I think we that when. When we started this early, you
(48:04):
asked like, you know, what was the intention of starting this
and it was like bringing community back.
And I think like over the last 6-7, eight years, we've been
able to garner an interest and commitment and investment in
this community. Again, I think that's something
to be proud of and I'm I'm proudof, you know, I'm proud of my my
(48:26):
Co founder and business partner nookie too.
You know, I think I'm I'm proud of us for you know, I, I think
we've we've talked internally a lot.
It's like both of us really never imagined like coming back
to Argyle, right. So I'm proud that we kind of
pivoted our mindset. And like was able to.
Invest in this way and, you know, be able to create a
(48:49):
community with other. And it's not only us, right?
Like none of this happens without everyone else.
What happened with, like, even like you, Randy, for allowing us
to share our platform and telling our story, but also like
everyone that, yeah, that we've worked with and partner with and
collaborate over the years and moving forward too, that we
(49:10):
will, you know, the potentially new relationships that we build.
Yeah. So I'm proud of that.
Yeah. Yeah.
And. And as we start to wrap up, let
me see if I can take another stab at Vietnamese here.
So I want to say toy toy Ritdek the ritdek Nujing voi ban hai
(49:38):
sweetie. Come on, Randy.
Come on, Randy. OK, so.
Thank you so much. And I hope that people get to
follow Habayo Cafe and also you can follow Habayo on Instagram.
(50:00):
And yeah, all the best to you inyour endeavors with this.
I think this is going to be sucha great gem for this community.
And if if if not, it already is.But like, I really hope nothing
but the best for this. This is just wonderful.
And thank you so much for sharing your time.
Thank you so much, Randy. I appreciate it.
Thank you.
Hey everyone, welcome to the Bund Meat Chronicles podcast.
So I am joined with two good friends of mine, Hawk Tran and
Nookie Fam and they are now the Co owners of Jubail Cafe on
Argyle St. in the Chicago Uptownneighborhood.
The cafe has recently opened up several weeks ago this fall.
Congratulations to both of you. The Asian Argyle community has
(00:30):
been home to many Chinese, Vietnamese and Cambodian
immigrants and refugees for the past 50 years.
And you know, I've known for, I've known both of you for like
several years now. And, and what I've learned about
you is that you have been pavingthe way in preserving the
identity and culture of that community despite the many
(00:52):
threats it has faced with many folks, including the Vietnamese
folks migrating from the city tothe suburbs, the wave of
gentrification that hovers over the CTA construction and so
forth. And hockey, you were on my show
actually in the first season, 2019, which is like 6 years ago,
which is quite, it's quite, it'squite shocking because it's
(01:16):
like, I can't believe it's been that long, but it also feels
forever ago at the same time. And that was when I knew you and
Nokia had already been starting.How about you?
You were doing late night parties in the Asian Argyle
community. And then the pandemic happened.
And both of you were, you know, working closely with these
(01:36):
businesses in the wake of anti Asian hate and the after effects
of the pandemic. And now you're finally open your
Cafe and I want to say congratulations.
And what has that been like for both of you to bring this
long-awaited dream to the neighborhood that we all grew up
in? Yeah, thank you so much, Randy,
(01:57):
for that introduction and also, you know, for, you know, all
your support throughout the years.
Yeah, I can't believe it's been 6 years since the last
conversation we've had. But yeah, I wanted to let also
Jennifer share any words. Sure.
Thank you again, Randy. This has been an incredible
(02:18):
journey and also knowing you through the years and you
attending our late night partiesbecause that's how we started.
And I'm just so grateful to be able to be on this journey with
Hock, my good friend from for many years now, and to be able
to build not only a cafe, but a community space.
(02:41):
Yeah. So what was the genesis in
starting this cafe then? And like what was triggering
this idea? Sure.
Well, I'll, I'll start how well we we, our intention for Argyle
St. was to bring people back to the neighborhood.
I grew up at the in the neighborhood.
My parents were the first Vietnamese business owners.
(03:02):
And both Hack and I have been friends since we were young.
And his parents and my parents were also friends.
And we were just chatting about ways we can bring people back to
the neighborhood because we've seen it change through the
years. And we noticed that meet the
younger generation wasn't spending much time on Argyle
Street. And so we started off as a party
(03:25):
and we had like a late night, you know, fall hour.
We had highlighted Southeast Asian DJs and it was just a, you
know, really fun way to bring people back to the neighborhood.
And from there, it just grew andmorphed into something a lot
bigger than we had imagined. But the intention of bringing
(03:47):
people back to the neighborhood was always there.
And that's how the cafe idea even started, because what
started off as a party turned into a festival.
Then we started to do mutual aidwork and then we started to
apply for grants from the city of Chicago and we were able to
throw festivals and, and throughthese conversations of bringing
(04:12):
people together, We, we, we're just trying to find ways to, you
know, have people be able to work with one another.
And so the idea of having a Cafewhere people can Co work, they
can have conversations and just enjoy having, you know, some
drink and food and, and, and spend, spend time on Argyle St.
(04:34):
after like the later hours. So that's how the idea started.
Rak, do you want to add anything?
Yeah, I think just to kind of echo what Nookie said, you know,
like we started as this pop up party with really no kind of
blueprint of the future. So it kind of organically
(04:55):
happened and we kind of just adapted to the whatever kind of
the world threw at us. But you know, there was always
an intention of like being grounded and rooted in like
community. And you were lucky enough to
have those relationships in the past, you know, just by being
involved in the community in different capacities.
And you know, like, I think likefor the cafe itself, the brick
(05:18):
and mortar, like the opportunitycame up post pandemic.
We were already 5O1C3 at the time, in addition to having kind
of that LLC. So we're kind of a social
enterprise model where we both have a business side, but we
have a strong nonprofit wing as well.
And you know, the opportunity arose post pandemic where the
city of Chicago was offering, it's called like the Chicago
(05:41):
redevelopment or CRG grant, which was like investing in
construction capital projects that have strong like basically
impact to certain communities ofcolor throughout the city.
So that was a great opportunity.We spoke with Ellen from Q Ideas
(06:03):
because she also like has the space on Argyle and she kind of
took over the business and was thinking about like either
shutting her doors or downsizing.
So it was like a, a great opportunity to, for, for us to
come together and reimagine like, hey, let's apply for this
grant. You know, it might be a long
shot if we get it, then we move forth and like, to our surprise,
(06:25):
like we were able to get this grant that really helped
redevelop and reimagine the space that we have here today.
So it's a very symbiotic relationship between like 2
ideas as well as Jaime, Yo, in terms of like creating this kind
of social enterprise model that has different identities that
coexist within the same space. But like, like Nookie said, I
(06:46):
think it's really critically important that what we're
creating is like not just a cafe, right?
I think I, I think the Cafe allows us to utilize the space
that we've developed for people to come here, connect as a third
space when we weren't really going to utilize the space
anyways. So I think that's like a, an
(07:06):
opportunity that we saw fit for the community.
So we kind of pursued that route.
But yeah, I think it's been, I guess at now like 3 weeks or so,
2 1/2 weeks of opening the Cafe and it's been, you know, like
we've gotten traction and it's good to see, you know, people
reach out, wanting to utilize the space, collaborate, bring
(07:29):
their own ideas. Like tonight we have a, an open
mic night. It's from Gen.
Z Filipina X community member who frequented our cafe and
wanted to just host something. So we're collaborating on that
front. So, so like, you know, like to
provide spaces is ultimately thegoal of like drawing people back
(07:52):
here, having dialogue of community, culture, heritage,
but also providing platforms foryounger people to think about
how they can contribute in a vision, the future of Argyle.
I really appreciate this being up for both of you to like, you
know, share the journey in creating this space and what I
(08:15):
actually I visited the space about actually back in May.
It was like before it was officially open months before it
was opened. And, and I was like walking
through, it's like, wow, this issuch a beautiful atmosphere.
And there were like homages to old Vietnamese pop stars of the
(08:35):
80s and 90s. And, and then I also saw like
one of the big signs. I can't remember what storefront
it used to be from, but that blew me away.
You know, it's like it started bringing conjuring up some very
old memories and, you know, justwalking around, it's like, wow,
this is this is what it means topreserve the history of the
(08:55):
streets. I mean, this is a street that I
used to go to growing up as a kid.
I mean, me and my brothers and my family would always go there
every weekend. And back then I used to hate
those trips because this was before.
I mean, if I had a cell phone, if I had an iPad at the time,
then maybe I wouldn't, it wouldn't, I wouldn't have
suffered as much. But I mean, I'm a very rosy kid.
(09:16):
So I was like for for an hour onthat car.
It was brutal, but but I always find a lot of nostalgia coming
back and I always have these weird memories about what this
place used to be. What was what was that business
before Q ideas and Javio came in?
What was that business? Because I thought it was Sun Wah
(09:38):
for some reason, because someoneused to be over in that area,
that specific spot. So yeah, it's, it's for me.
It's like I always. Oh, really?
Yeah, original Sanwa. Original Sanwa building, but
before then it was like a Japanese gift shop.
Like I think even before our time, because I look at old
images of Argyle and it was likethis Japanese gift shop, which
(10:01):
is like interesting because likenow like Cue Ideas is kind of
like represents that. But yeah, it's a fun while.
So where the cafe is in the backis where they were roasting
ducks and stuff. Oh, wow, that that's what I was
thinking of. Like this is going to be like
where someone used to be. And so I mean, this also kind of
(10:22):
goes to show you like the many changes that have happened in
the past, say 40 years. And a lot of the parents that
that used to frequent there or own these businesses have now
since retired. And nookie, I know that this
year has been very tough with the reason passing your father,
(10:44):
but I think it's important to talk about your father's legacy
here because he was one of the first Vietnamese owner in or he
had he had the first Vietnamese owned business on that screen.
It was mini TX pharmacy, which now stands in which you have
also been, you know, leading andtaking over that business.
(11:06):
But what was going through your dad's mind when he decided to
open up this business and what was his experience prior to
coming to America? Like why the why the pharmacy?
Why? Why?
Why that in particular? What was about Argyle that made
it very intriguing? So my my dad was a pharmacy, a
(11:29):
pharmacist in Vietnam and, and he also had a pharmacy also on a
corner in Vietnam, in Guanghai, which is like the middle of
Vietnam. And he ended up losing
everything from the war and fledto America.
And his when he first came here,both my mom and my dad ended up
(11:54):
in Iowa. And Oh no, they ended up at Fort
Chaffee in Arkansas, a refugee camp.
And then they saw that there wassome opportunity in going to
school at Iowa. So they ended up at the
University of Iowa. And my, at that time, my grandma
lived in Chicago, which is my dad's mother.
(12:15):
And so my dad ended up going spending time in Chicago right
after he went to school. And so there were at that time,
there were Uptown was done to, you know, nonprofit
organizations and they were helping a lot of the Vietnamese
refugees. And so my, my dad ended up
(12:38):
working right by Truman College at a pharmacy, right like across
the street. And he noticed that there were
many Vietnamese people in the neighborhood and he started to
translate the, the prescriptionsin Vietnamese.
And so he really, I think, I think it was just kind of, you
know, there was just so many Vietnamese people in the
neighborhood and, and he saw a need for it.
(13:01):
And when my mom got out of school, she ended up choosing
the, the building that the pharmacy is at right now.
She just thought a corner would be really beautiful.
And there were a couple of Asiangrocery stores close by and, and
the, the price was right. And so they ended up, you know,
(13:21):
signing a lease and my dad down the road ended up purchasing the
purchasing that part of the building and, and they were able
to open up their pharmacy. And it wasn't only a pharmacy.
The, the name of the pharmacy iscalled Mini Kung SA pharmacy,
which means mini mall. And so they also had a video
(13:43):
rental shop and it was also the first music shop on Argo, which
is interesting. And they sold fabric and you
know, really just whatever people wanted and needed at the
time. Like people were like folks were
asking for movies that were dubbed in Vietnamese and, and
music and they wanted to get their film developed.
And so anything like people wereasking for, my dad ended up
(14:05):
providing or bringing on people that could provide that.
Yeah, I think what I remembered back in the day was like, yes, I
do remember it was a video rental store too.
It there was a, it felt like there was a different
storefront, like besides just the pharmacy.
I was like, wow, this is very unique.
And was it like that? Was it very similar to what was
(14:26):
it like back in the homeland? He his, his no, no, he his.
His pharmacy in Vietnam was justsolely a pharmacy, nothing else.
And, and you know, it's interesting because I, we
weren't able to have conversations about his past up
until, until right before his passing because I think it was
(14:47):
too difficult to, for him to share about his past.
And he, he would sometimes get angry, you know, when I would
ask questions. And I think it was just tough
for him to be able to talk aboutit.
And so he, I don't know too muchof the detail, but I do know
that it meant a lot to him. And the the building where the
(15:09):
pharmacy was in Guanghai was, was owned by my grandmother at
the time. So this legacy business
continuing. Yeah, I'm also like in
continuing this part, but I remembered there was a story
that your dad was about to sell that business.
And Oh yeah, this. Was like several years ago and I
(15:31):
mean I was, I think I was hearing it on a podcast that you
were on and I was like busy cleaning my apartment and I
almost like literally stopped. I literally just dropped my
broom when I heard that your father was about to sell it.
I think it was to ACVS if I'm not mistaken.
Yeah, yeah, correct. Honestly would have completely
changed the face of that community.
What was going through your dad's mind at that time when he
(15:53):
was looking to sell that business and how did how was he
convinced to not sell that? So he at the time CVS multiple
times had reached out to him andwanted to purchase the business.
And my my dad for many years, hewasn't interested, but he he did
(16:14):
notice like, you know, he's getting older.
My parents were already thinkingabout a retirement plan and both
his kids, my brother and I weren't interested in pharmacy.
And, you know, he just really like for him, I think the, the
idea like he wanted us to take it over, but we, both my brother
(16:34):
and I weren't interested. And so my, my dad, you know,
bought up the idea of selling the pharmacy.
And, and that's when I realized like, oh, damn, you know, like
this, this, this is something that could end up being just
part of the past. And it didn't sit right with me.
And, you know, I started to giveit some more thought and I, I
(16:57):
realized at the time that, you know, I wanted to continue what
he created, but, but maybe in myown way, because at the time I
was in the acupuncture school and I, I, I, I, I'm more, I was
always more interested in like alternative medicine.
And, and so him and I both had aconversation and we were
(17:18):
thinking of ways that we can continue the business because I
felt that the community needed some alternative ways of
healing. And so I, I, I bought up idea of
like, you know, like, let's let's add more supplements,
let's add more essential oils, just like, you know, just little
things just to add to the pharmacy.
And he was, he was open to the idea.
(17:40):
And so I was like, OK, yeah, let's make it at east meets W
pharmacy. Let's bring, you know, like get
the younger generation involved and and yeah, he was interested
in and then from there we we were able to continue the
pharmacy. I'm also a bit curious about
like the way the pharmacy is, especially as the Vietnamese
(18:03):
elder population is aging and passing away like, and also with
the competition to like, you know, of course, with CVS,
Walgreens, Target and so forth, How has this business been able
to sustain itself despite the many changes that have happened
in that neighborhood? We have a strong relationship
(18:24):
with the, the patients that comein.
And I think because they've beencoming for so many years and,
and we, we know the families well, I, I think just from
there, it's just that, that community oriented connection is
what sets us apart from, you know, like a Walgreens or
something. The, the, the folks like the,
(18:47):
the pharmacy technicians, including the pharmacist, also
my partner, like they're constantly checking on the
patients as well. Like they know them by name,
they know their sons, they know their daughters.
And, and I think it's just like this strong connection that has
always been there. And, and so that's been nice.
So they'll, they'll come, they'll drive in from the
(19:08):
suburbs just to pick up their medication, which I, I'm, I'm,
I'm so grateful for that. We still have that connection,
but the area is changing quite abit.
And, you know, it's, it's, it's harder for the older folks to
come pick up their medication sothat, you know, the, their kids
or their grandkids will come pick up the medication.
(19:28):
But yeah, it's, we're, we're thinking of ways to, to connect
with the, the, the changing community now.
Like we're, we're actually remodeling the space and we're
getting a new sign and you know,just updating it to bring it
into the new yes. Yeah, if you, if you, if you had
that old sign, I think you had to bring it back to the Habayo
(19:49):
Cafe, just like. You.
I think you have to 'cause that's a landmark like, like I'm
like, I am a person who believesin preserving history.
So I really hope that that you. Make sure that you take that
sign with you too. Oh, yeah, yeah.
No, no, We're preserving all thesigns on Argyle as if if we're,
if we have the opportunity too, we will.
(20:11):
Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely.
Hopefully you want to. Hopefully you have enough space
at some point, you know, But like, who makes space?
Yeah. Yeah.
And for Huck, like what really LED you to.
I know this is a very low question, but maybe more
specifically, like what, what, what amped up your need to to
(20:32):
invest into this community? What what makes hobby well, what
makes Argyle so special to you that you feel the need to to
make this part of your experience?
Yeah, for me, you know. Like I didn't live on Argyle St.
my my father lived here. But when, you know, my parents
(20:54):
got married, they moved out to the West side of Chicago and
then eventually to the suburbs. But they were always involved,
like my mom worked as a secretary for VAI in the very
early years and then my dad was on the board throughout the 90s.
So I was always here. But like for me, like the
origins sort of my connection toArgyle actually is because of
Argyle. My parents met each other on
(21:15):
Wake Island, which is like rightafter leaving in 75 April 30th,
they went to Wake Island. It was like a, a military US
island or whatever. And my dad was like teaching
English and my mom was his assistant at the the refugee
camps. And then also like similar to
Nookie's parents, my parents also went through Fort Chaffee
(21:36):
or Chaffee in Arkansas. My dad was sponsored by a
college here in Chicagoland. And then my mom actually was
sponsored by like a Lutheran Church, her family to Milwaukee,
WI. But I think it was like the snow
storm of like 78 or 79 or whatever, or maybe even 77.
I can't remember the year. But back then there was not like
(21:59):
not many Vietnamese restaurants.So actually one of our family
friends, Nookie Mukhman, they used to live on Sheridan and
Argyle in that building where the tattoo place is now on the
7th floor. So they live there and they used
to sell pho out of their house. And then they had like mahjong.
So my dad was there that night, like gambling and eating pot.
(22:22):
And it was like the same night my, my mom and her friends from
University of like Wisconsin, Milwaukee, they're like, Hey, we
want to go to Chinatown, Chicago.
But then because of the snowstorm, like one of her
friends heard like, oh, well, there's this Argyle.
And then we heard about this person's house that they sell
fall off from. So they're like, OK, well, it's
(22:42):
closer. So let's go there.
So they, my mom was there and like, they like crossed paths
again and my dad saw her, got her address and phone number and
like, that's how they started reconnecting again.
So he will like write letters toher and then go through there
and visit. And like, because of like Argyle
Street and like that very initial, you know, like place of
(23:06):
like home after being, you know,fleeing your home and building
community. Here is how my parents
reconnected. So like, you know, I, I, there's
like Argyle to me is like home, even though I never like live
physically on Argyle. But you know, like, for me, like
I, I never had the intention to be here actually.
(23:28):
So like I studied during my likecollege years.
I went to DePaul for like, political science and like
sociology, International Studies.
And I actually studied abroad inVietnam in O6IN, Hanoi.
So I studied abroad in Hanoi. I came back.
I never wanted to be in Chicago.And then the following year I
went to Budapest, Hungary. I studied there.
(23:49):
And then like immediately when Icame back and graduated, I moved
back to Vietnam for three years.And then I, you know, came back
here with the intention of goingto Graduate School, which I did.
I did a master's in urban planning and policy in
international planning with the intention of like, hey, I'm
going to move back to Vietnam and do International Development
(24:11):
work because I was like involvedwith like Save the Children,
another organization. I lived in central Vietnam, the
author and film maker author lately, Hayslip in California.
There was a movie Oliver Stone made about her called Heaven and
Earth. She was actually my boss in
Hoyats. So doing a lot of development
work with like really like deep Roe communities in the
(24:35):
mountains, so that we did a lot of different types of like flood
mitigation work, you know, job development stuff like in
Vietnam. And that's what I wanted to
pursue. But like during my time in
Graduate School, like I was working at Southeast Asia Center
and like started getting involved back into the
community. This is probably like 2012
(24:56):
through 2014 where I like started like seeing like, hey,
Argyle is really changing. Like it's no longer this even
back then like 1213 years ago, right?
Like it was different than like what I remembered in the 90s and
even early 2000s. So like a lot of my research
pivoted my masters project pivoted to, to create basically
(25:20):
my masters project was called like street access and it was
like a social enterprise food entrepreneurship program with a
Cafe element for Argyle St. backthen.
But then like that's where when I reconnected with nookie, like
a lot of things, her ideas. So I had like an, a basis of
(25:40):
like, hey, man, eventually maybewe could do this.
But like when we came together, like we, we created javio and
it's like a kind of a fusion of her ideas, really great ideas
because she's so creative. And then, you know, like this
food entrepreneurship Cafe idea,I think that was like a somewhat
of an unspoken basis for what weare today.
(26:01):
But like we never sat down like,hey, this is the blueprint,
right? But like, I think that's how it
how I got recommitted to the street as like a caseworker,
getting to know the community members again.
And then like I work for the Chamber of Commerce in the last
eight years. I laughed earlier this year
being able to develop like really strong relationships with
(26:23):
like business owners and land owners of this community.
So like, yeah, I think like all those kind of experiences
coalesced alongside, you know, the developing relationship of
like a rekindling of friendship with nookie and like creating
hyper yo to like internally decide like, hey, I'm committed
(26:44):
to to Argyll again. Yeah.
I think to see this come to fruition and also how you came
about it is like it's almost serendipitous.
Like you, it's not something that you would think of like
when you first began this work and and at the end of the day,
it's like you start to think about those relationships and.
(27:05):
When I look at the the. Current landscape of Argyll Now
I know that there's some empty storefronts too.
I know that they're usually during the summer there's like
the the night market on Thursdayevenings, but what does it look
like for the future, especially for Vietnamese and other Asian
owned businesses on that street?What are we looking at in the
(27:28):
next in the future if you have acrystal ball?
Yeah, I could take a stab at this.
So like one of the, so like the nonprofit end of Jivio, like we
kind of have 4 kind of key areas.
Like, you know, we're a very young nonprofit and we have like
(27:50):
there's a fellow who have has jumped on board as a consultant,
Jefferson Mock, who has a lot ofspecial nonprofit development.
He's helping like kind of establish the nonprofit
alongside me and Nookie to, you know, grow it.
But kind of the four key areas of the nonprofit itself, like 1
of it actually involves like this idea of like vision
(28:14):
planning for the future and that's the Regenerate program.
So we have like 1 is activate iskind of like to re introduce
like a lot of the cultural programs that we have like the
cultural festivals. So we've done, you know, like in
May, like the API block party, we just like collaborate with a
bunch of other organizations forthe Mid Autumn Moon, but we want
(28:36):
to kind of expand it again to like what we did in 21/21/22.
Regenerate. That program is about like
thinking about like urban planning, succession planning of
businesses and like, also like kind of recruitment of like
young Asian American entrepreneurs to like cover
those, you know, vacant storefronts and, and create
(28:59):
like, you know, regenerate the area to like sustain this
cultural identity. So we are applying, we awaiting
several grants which unfortunately like right now
like it's very hard to obtain grants, especially under this
administration. But like that is like kind of
the pathway to answer these questions, right?
(29:20):
And it's a lot of work, right? There's never one stop solution
to these things. So, you know, I think the first
thing we can do is like what I want to do for 2026 in the
beginning of the year, maybe quarter 1 is like creating like
a group of stakeholders, business owners, land owners,
(29:41):
second generation people who have taken over to, to create a
like a, a conversation. Like I want to invite them here.
Maybe eventually we create a steering committee to have like
a seat at the table in terms of planning decisions that exists
kind of right now beyond us. So like, you know, like Argyle
itself, why it's Argyle was because of like multiple
leaders, that of the past, like Charlie Sue was one of them,
(30:04):
right? He was considered the mayor of
Argyle, but he had his own organization that really worked
directly with City Hall to be the representative of the
businesses of the community. And once he passed, like that
kind of disintegrated. And a lot of like these seats at
the table were absorbed into theUptown Chamber of Commerce,
(30:26):
which like have some people likefrom the community on the board.
But like, I think like. Kind of how do we think about
that motto and like build very hyperlocal power amongst
stakeholders in this community to have the seat at the table to
(30:46):
have an input and a voice in terms of like planning,
investment, redevelopment projects that occur and impact
our community. So like what that entails is
really first step is like building that coalition.
So that's like something that we're looking towards.
But then of course, you know, like through that coalition,
(31:07):
there's issues of, you know, vacant storefront.
So like, how do we think about succession?
How do we think about leveragingfunds from the city to redevelop
projects of like certain buildings that maybe building
owners don't have enough money to fix?
Thinking about like Co-op modelsof like purchasing a retiring
business right there. There's models like that exist
(31:30):
already in different kind of diasporas in like Houston and
Seattle in these like neighborhoods that are like of
Asian descent that we don't haveto reinvent the wheel.
Like next week, CBDCAC Grace hasthis whole forum that talks
about these things for Chinatown, which I'm attending.
So like, how do we look at like other organizations doing very
(31:51):
similar things that have done italready and learning from them
and collaborating and partneringwith them to do that here?
So that's like one of the programs that have a yield, a
nonprofit is really trying to engage in thinking about
preservation, but like actionable steps towards
preservation. And since the cafe's opening a
(32:13):
couple weeks ago and also coinciding with the CTA stop
finally opening up after a few years, now, ICE raids have been
happening all over Chicago, specifically on the North Side
as well. How has that impacted Argyle
Street and how have how has Havaio?
(32:35):
How have both of you responded in the wake of the ICE raids?
Yeah. And also and also on the snap
cuts as well too, because that'salso very important for a lot of
the community and I don't want to miss on that too, yeah.
Yeah. So I could share briefly and
(32:55):
also nookie, I know that you have, we have like plans in
motion for a lot of these thingsin response.
So like, yeah, we've like I'm inconstant conversation with the
people who are part of the rapidresponse groups.
We who's The Who you know well, and also he's like chief of
staff for Juan. He's like I'm in constant
conversation about like, you know, when S rights happen, he's
(33:21):
informing me and I'm like potentially informing other
business owners. We were just at a conference
actually the day before, the same day where Juan actually sit
right Huan where eyes pointed a gun in his face, like I we were
in the I was in the same meetingwith him.
It was about like, hey, knowing your rights as business owners,
it was at VAI and we were there together and like, they were in
(33:42):
the car and they're like, hey, see you later.
And then that happened, which islike, pretty insane.
But yeah, it's been, it's been scary, right?
Like the state of the world, like this is not like a system
that I've ever imagined living in, right?
It's it, it strips away so many rights of just like human
(34:05):
rights, you know, it's, it's, it's I don't know.
I think we all kind of agree that this is like unprecedented
and scary, But that doesn't meanthat like we just, you know,
shake our shake and fear. It's it's about like building
collective power and having thatknowledge.
I know that Alan is part of a group that is going to be on
watch for the Gowdy students with whistles and like for them
(34:29):
to get safely to school and safely home.
And there's a, but I'll let you know, nookie talk about like
kind of the programs that we arethinking about in regards to
both ICE and SNAP. There's been collaborations
about potentially holding something here regarding like
knowledge based stuff for business centers and community
(34:49):
members regarding ice raids. But also like maybe you know,
I'll, I'll let you talk about the SNAP stuff as well and the
ice potential ice programming. Yeah, well, we've, we've been
sharing as much info as, as, as possible and also educating
ourselves. And as far as the SNAP benefits,
like we since we just opened, I mean we were planning on having
(35:11):
a, a shelf of non perishable items so that we can like put
continue to to add to the shelf.And then if anyone needs food
then they can just take it. So it's kind of like a, you
know, give, give what you can, grab what you can type of
program. And I mean, really it's just
(35:33):
like, like Cox said, it's unprecedented times.
And we are just trying our best to gather as much information as
possible and also share as much as possible, but also continue
to cultivate joy. Because while this is all
happening, one thing that is sometimes difficult to do is to
continue the joy and, and to continue coming together in
(35:56):
community. And so, yeah, it's, it's, it's
kind of, you know, I would say it's difficult to navigate
through, but we're still making it happen.
That's it. Yeah.
And how are the elder Vietnamesefolks that have known Argo for
so long, how have they respondedto the work that's being done?
(36:18):
How have they responded to the changes that have happened over
the years? I mean, is there like a
lamenting, like, I hate to see this go away.
I'm curious to see what your thoughts are, especially with
you trying to honor the elders who have come before, but also
trying to bring in second generation Vietnamese folks and
(36:39):
other Asian folks to to invest their time in there.
Yeah, I think and I've always felt that in order to move
forward in a positive manner, I think that it's important to
share the history of what was there before us.
And for like any opportunity we have to connect with the elders,
(37:04):
we do and we, we oftentimes likethey, they share their
experiences. And, and it's like high Bayou is
like meant to also be a space for healing and healing between
the generations. I always felt that there was a
gap between the generations. Like growing up, my, you know,
parents had their own experiences, but it was, it was
(37:25):
too painful to, to share. And also me growing up as an
American, I also didn't understand their hardships.
And, and so I, I think through the years I've, I've been able
to heal my relationship with my parents, but that also echoes
into the, the healing that is within the community itself.
(37:48):
Because my experience is not only my experience, I also
noticed that it's like my friends are also going through
the same thing as well. And so being able to bridge that
gap and to allow the older generation to be able to share
their experiences has been, I think, very monumental in, in,
(38:08):
in our growth as high. But yo, the older folks have
been coming into our space and, and they, they love it.
They love to see the old signs. They, they love to try the new
drinks as well. And they love seeing the younger
community being so excited to, to, to, to like be in a space
where you see the old signs. And, and so it's, it's, it's
(38:31):
been really beautiful to see andto create.
Yeah, I think it's. Oh, yeah, sorry, Randy, just to
add a little bit to that, like there are like on the nonprofit
and like in the past that we've done like a lot of kind of
healing events, but additionallylike oral history kind of
programming. And that's like another kind of
(38:51):
thing that we want to strengthenfor the future is like really
document and record both auto like visual and audio of like
lived experiences of long term community members from this
diaspora. To have that lamented in like
history, right? And like to have that honored
and recorded, I think that's really important of archiving
(39:14):
these experiences. So that's like a program that
we're also kind of navigating for the future as well.
I am thinking about like what other ways are you using the
space? I know you want to make it more
community oriented and I'm very curious, are you working on any
partnerships or any collaborations with other
organizations or groups? I'm curious to see what ideas
(39:36):
you're looking to create for thenext year, if you could share
that. Yeah, well, we've been, there's
been quite a bit of like a lot of organizations who have been
reaching out to us who want to collaborate.
And I I think with high by yo, we've always it it, it's never
rigid. It's always, it's always been
(39:58):
very creative. Like we come up with ideas and
then if like, say you Randy, like you had an idea and you
wanted to do something on in in our space, you know, we just
chat about it and then we createsomething together and.
Beautiful because there's no like one way and but I I do have
to say like you know it's it's always rooted in creativity with
(40:21):
music, with food healing, sharing stories and and so just
I would. Say like a wide array.
Of ideas really it's like it's in many ways it's a blank canvas
of, of what you want to create, but there's always a, a healing
aspect to it and culture, culture forward.
(40:46):
Yeah, and and just to add to like in.
Terms of like already existed partnerships and collaborations.
Like just yesterday we had a, wehosted, you know, Lenny's office
for their participatory budgeting meeting, which like
allows platform for like residents of 48th Ward to like
have a key role in like where the money is spent.
(41:07):
Also with the AI, they're doing their youth like providing space
for kind of the youth organizingwith Huang the last two
weekends, but also like, yeah, just like providing space.
But also we also were engaged with collaborating in terms of
youth education this past year, but we worked with Stomping
(41:29):
Grounds Literary Arts Initiative, who's Algen who been
like kind of the resident DJ of Uptown for many years, but he
also runs a a nonprofit. So we provided audio production
Zenes, comic book illustration classes as well as I think like
(41:53):
narrative storytelling to like youth 5th to 8th grade, like at
Gaudi at McCutcheon. And also recently, like I'm in
conversation now of the newly formed, like Friends of Gaudi
board that I'm joining to like think about like fundraising of
how to like, you know, give backto the youth in our space.
(42:14):
So like there's like multiple layers and multiple platforms of
collaboration that we we are always open to and want to like
strengthen. Yeah, I know.
I know my friend Tony. And I were like saying that we
really need to have like a Vietnamese language exchange
here. So I, I mean, I'm trying to
learn my Vietnamese too. It's still pretty choppy.
(42:34):
Like if, like if I say, I don't know if you're able to
understand that. Yeah, I understand.
You've been setting me to me. Since June.
Nice work. Yeah, it's a hit or a miss.
It's really a hit or a. Miss with a lot of folks because
(42:55):
like either they understand me or they completely don't.
So it's like, yeah, but I do better with the writing,
surprisingly. So I've been catching up on that
instead. But yeah.
But I hope that there will be more opportunities for that too,
because I think that the the possibilities are endless.
What would you say are your favorite recommended must haves
on the menu of the cafe? Yeah, the the.
(43:23):
Cafe Muy is delicious and the the coffee is is a collaboration
with Fiat 5 and Sup Doc called Too High.
So it's like a after after roastcoffee and and it's made just
like Cafe SUA with the condensedmilk and then we add Muy on top.
(43:44):
So it's like a salted foam. It's delicious.
So I highly recommend that. And the matcha, the matcha
lattes is really good. The matcha is from Felician Tea
and it's single origin. It's a Chinese mocha and it has
a beautiful flavor. So I recommend those too.
(44:06):
Yeah. I I recommend I'm.
Usually like just straight blackcoffee.
The bitter, the better. But I think like why I want to
do why I do want to kind of spotlight is that on the cafe
side, we're very intentional about where we're sourcing the
beans, right? Like 1-1 at VIT 5 has his own
farm. It's like single origin direct
(44:27):
from his family in Vietnam. Annie from Volition works
directly with farmers to really kind of spot like the art and
craft of these tea leaves. Very high quality single origin
and and then also our our our other beans, the Arabica beans.
We work with Mikey Indonesian American roaster here in Chicago
(44:48):
that also really has like strongconnections to like farmers
about Southeast Asia, very smallemerging coffee farmers.
So like, you know, like whateverthe drink may be.
I think like knowing that kind of pathway and like that
intention of like sourcing really high quality stuff, but
also like, you know, impactful way for that honor kind of the
(45:10):
farmers themselves. For me, I just like a straight
black coffee iced, but that's either the Vietnamese one or the
Arabica ones. Robusta or Arabica I like.
But yeah, I do like the the Vietnamese salted cream coffee a
lot. That's great.
I came. Up with the recipe.
Too. Yeah, awesome, awesome.
(45:31):
Just been. Batching it.
Yeah. Like I.
Don't drink alcohol anymore. And I've also had to watch out
for my sugar intake. So it's like I.
But I still have the guilt of taking Cape soda sometimes.
But I do like to drink. I'm actually starting to like
cold brew, which I never thoughtI would like, but here I am like
years later, like, oh, OK. This is like a necessity.
(45:54):
I look at it as a necessity because I need to stay awake.
But yeah, like, also shout out to VFI because I am such a huge
fan of Dunn's work, Twan's work.And I'm also thinking about for
both of you, when you look back on all the hard work that you've
(46:14):
been putting on laying the groundwork for this to finally
open, What are you most proud ofright now at this moment?
Yeah, yeah. Well, for me is building,
building this community has, hasbeen the most fruitful and
(46:38):
rewarding thing that I, I, I feel so proud of.
And it's it's not just like it'snot.
It's not just like building. Of the community but but
finding, finding those who didn't always feel connected to
home right to be able to feel proud of who they are where they
(46:58):
came from and to also like be able to have this platform here
where people can share about their experiences.
We've, we've had, you know, likeadoptee stories shared in our
space or like Vietnamese folks, like who grew up here, who, you
know, always felt uncomfortable being, being Vietnamese or, or
(47:19):
like Vietnamese, Cambodian or black, you know, like, and, and
you just have this completely different experience.
And so I, I've, I've always feltin many ways disconnected from
the community just because I always felt so different.
And so I, I've always wanted to create a space where people feel
welcome to be who they are and to be able to shine in their
(47:43):
own, in their own light. And, and, and so I, I, I'd say
I'm, I'm most proud of that and excited about that.
Yeah. I would have to echo that.
That same feeling as well, you know, like.
I think we that when. When we started this early, you
(48:04):
asked like, you know, what was the intention of starting this
and it was like bringing community back.
And I think like over the last 6-7, eight years, we've been
able to garner an interest and commitment and investment in
this community. Again, I think that's something
to be proud of and I'm I'm proudof, you know, I'm proud of my my
(48:26):
Co founder and business partner nookie too.
You know, I think I'm I'm proud of us for you know, I, I think
we've we've talked internally a lot.
It's like both of us really never imagined like coming back
to Argyle, right. So I'm proud that we kind of
pivoted our mindset. And like was able to.
Invest in this way and, you know, be able to create a
(48:49):
community with other. And it's not only us, right?
Like none of this happens without everyone else.
What happened with, like, even like you, Randy, for allowing us
to share our platform and telling our story, but also like
everyone that, yeah, that we've worked with and partner with and
collaborate over the years and moving forward too, that we
(49:10):
will, you know, the potentially new relationships that we build.
Yeah. So I'm proud of that.
Yeah. Yeah.
And. And as we start to wrap up, let
me see if I can take another stab at Vietnamese here.
So I want to say toy toy Ritdek the ritdek Nujing voi ban hai
(49:38):
sweetie. Come on, Randy.
Come on, Randy. OK, so.
Thank you so much. And I hope that people get to
follow Habayo Cafe and also you can follow Habayo on Instagram.
(50:00):
And yeah, all the best to you inyour endeavors with this.
I think this is going to be sucha great gem for this community.
And if if if not, it already is.But like, I really hope nothing
but the best for this. This is just wonderful.
And thank you so much for sharing your time.
Thank you so much, Randy. I appreciate it.
Thank you.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Male Room with Dr. Jesse Mills
As Director of The Men’s Clinic at UCLA, Dr. Jesse Mills has spent his career helping men understand their bodies, their hormones, and their health. Now he’s bringing that expertise to The Male Room — a podcast where data-driven medicine meets common sense. Each episode separates fact from hype, science from snake oil, and gives men the tools to live longer, stronger, and happier lives. With candor, humor, and real-world experience from the exam room and the operating room, Dr. Mills breaks down the latest health headlines, dissects trends, and explains what actually works — and what doesn’t. Smart, straightforward, and entertaining, The Male Room is the show that helps men take charge of their health without the jargon.