From pho to poke, this Vietnamese restaurant coming to downtown Macon has it all

In 2008, a small coffee shop was converted into a family-owned Vietnamese restaurant in downtown Atlanta.

The popular spot at 53 Broad Street led to additional Vietnamese restaurants, the opening of poke restaurants and later a dual-concept restaurant offering the cuisine of both restaurants under one roof.

Now, Amanda and Grayson Truong are continuing to carry on the family tradition by opening Dua Vietnamese Noodle Soup & The Fish Tank Poke Co. in downtown Macon.

The double-branded restaurant at 781 Spring St., Suite 105, at the Lofts at Navicent, is expected to open soon — possibly as early as Monday.

The restaurant offers authentic, freshly made Vietnamese cuisine along with Hawaiian inspired poke.

For those not familiar with Vietnamese cuisine, Grayson Truong recommended starting with steak. The meats are marinated based on his mother’s recipes.

“The steak with the fried rice mainly because they’ll be familiar with the texture of the food,” Truong said. “The steak is actually a certified black Angus meat tenderloin.

“So, you actually get a filet mignon cut. We cube it so we can pan sear and get it out quickly to our customers.”

In addition to the fried rice, a side salad pairs well with the steak.

First-timers, try this

“Aside from the steak, I also recommend the wings for any first-timers who will come in because you won’t have wings like this anywhere,” Truong said.

“It’s our own house sauce that nobody else has. You go get wings anywhere else you’re going to get honey barbecue, you’ll get teriyaki, you’ll get the standard sauce anybody else has.”

The six jumbo-sized wings are big sellers at all of their restaurant locations, he said.

“Of course, the pho — that’s a staple for Vietnamese restaurants,” Truong said. “Every Vietnamese restaurant is going to have it.”

His mother, Tham Mai, and his sister, MyLinh Cao and her late husband, Thomas, opened the family’s first Vietnamese restaurant 13 years ago in downtown Atlanta.

What grew into a company of restaurants was passed down, with Truong serving as director of operations.

“I help get everything up and running,” he said.

His wife, Amanda, is the owner.

“She’s the brains behind everything,” he said.

The Macon restaurant will mark the family’s sixth corporate restaurant to open, with a seventh location planned for Alpharetta and an eighth location coming to Griffin to become the company’s first franchise. All of the restaurants except one are located in Georgia.

A family legacy

The company’s history is described this way on its website.

“The lessons learned along the way and the hardships overcome paved the path to more Dua Vietnamese Restaurants. In 2016, MyLinh and Thomas opened the first Fish Bowl Poke — soon to be Fish Tank Poke Co.— in Atlanta incorporating the same ideals of fresh, high quality ingredients and simple, fast, high quality service, and in 2016, we opened the first dual concept location incorporating both Dua and Fish Tank in Fayetteville.

“Our produce is delivered fresh every morning. Our meats are marinated with Mom’s recipes and her love for the Vietnamese culture. Our poke is award winning for Atlanta’s best. So, whether you’re in the mood for a hot bowl of pho, some Bo Luc Lac, or some deconstructed sushi in a bowl, come visit us at any of our locations.”

The Macon location has been in the works for some time.

“COVID put a little speed bump in the road but we got over it,” Grayson Truong said. “We actually signed a lease for Macon a couple of years ago.

“We had to take care of the restaurants we currently had on hand and make sure everybody would get through. No restaurant left behind.”

As work started at the Macon restaurant, people would stop by to check on its progress.

“We have a lot of people who have been coming in waiting for us,” Truong said. “A lot of the customers know us from the Atlanta locations, our other locations, so they’re very excited for us to be down here.”

Hours are expected to be 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday and 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.

The restaurant will offer dine-in, takeout and delivery via DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub.

Within about six to 12 weeks, the restaurant expects to open a bar. In addition to a large indoor dining area, outside seating is also available.

“If you look at our reputation, we’re very big on customer service and we want the Macon community to know that we’re here to serve them as well,” Truong said.

This story was originally published September 29, 2021 at 12:18 PM.