Success Story
Essence of Saigon
In 2005, fueled by his passion for food, Tony Tran began working in his family’s busy Vietnamese restaurant. Eleven years later, he took over management of Essence of Saigon, the same year he joined RestaurantOwner.com.
“I knew I needed help,” says Tony, who initially became a RestaurantOwner.com member to access the many downloadable templates and educational materials offered on this platform. He immediately implemented the best practices advice, checklists, and forms across his operations to control inventory, improve consistency, and function more efficiently.
There are many Vietnamese restaurants in Calgary, the largest city in the Canadian province of Alberta. Tony believes Essence of Saigon’s popularity is grounded in serving high-quality fresh authentic cuisine. The concept’s gluten-free menu appeals to their growing number of customers restricted to a celiac diet.
The restaurant continues to enjoy steadily increasing sales. During Covid, the restaurant added delivery services, which represent around 30% of sales. Take-out is also very popular, accounting for nearly 20% of sales. 2023 was a record sales year and so far in 2024, sales are up an impressive 15% year-over-year. Tony credits much of his sales growth to social media marketing efforts by his wife using the social media management platform, Feedbird. Meanwhile, Essence of Saigon’s profits have been boosted thanks to consultant David Tripoli, who helped reduce the prime cost to an impressive 55%-56% of sales and achieve a food cost consistently around 24%.
Tony is a fan of the RestaurantOwner.com Learning System. He has taken several courses and says he particularly likes the content of the shorter training videos. Soon, he plans to begin using the Learning System to train his managers and front-line team members.
While Tony is pleased with his recent successes, he acknowledges his road to success in his restaurant journey has not been easy, citing the many challenges that come with being an independent restaurant owner and operator. And yet he is grateful for the opportunities it has given him and his family.
Looking to the future, Tony wishes to open a second location, but it would have to be under the right circumstances. For now, Tony is content to work with Tripoli to maximize the profitability of the present location to be free to spend more time with family and pursue interests outside of the restaurant business.
Visit Essence of Saigon to learn more.
