Gracie Nguyen’s culinary journey began in her family’s kitchen in Houston, TX, where she learned how to craft the Vietnamese dishes that inspired her illustrious restaurant career. She honed her skills even more at a San Francisco culinary school.
In 2008, Gracie reconnected with her now-husband, Chad Newton, and the duo began the successful trajectory that led them to Nashville. The couple now helms a series of eateries, including East Side Banh Mi, East Side Pho, and Sweeza Super Quesadilla. As if running several restaurants isn’t enough, Gracie nurtures young talent through mentorship and a chef-driven incubator program. Talk about being busy! Please welcome our newest FACE, Gracie Nguyen.
Can you tell us a bit about your background? What led you and your husband to Nashville?
I grew up in a traditional Vietnamese family in Houston, TX, and was always baking and cooking with my grandma and aunts. I learned how to make traditional Vietnamese recipes from an early age and really enjoyed cooking with my family.
Later on, I went to culinary school in San Francisco and then followed that by working in fine-dining restaurants in San Francisco and Las Vegas. I ended up working at The Slanted Door, which is one of the best Vietnamese restaurants in the country.
After that, I founded Asian Box with my husband and, over the next many years, scaled it to 10 units. We decided to move to Nashville in 2020 for personal and business reasons but also because we really respected the chef and restaurant community here. The more we visited, the more we fell in love with Nashville.
What is your first indelible food memory?
When I was in culinary school, our student group would go out to eat at great restaurants around San Francisco. When we went to Postrio, I was so blown away by the food and experience that I had to work there! It was one of the best in San Francisco at that time and owned by Wolfgang Puck back in his heyday. I ended up working there for years in both locations — Las Vegas and San Francisco. It’s also where I met Chad way back in 2000!
If we can only try one dish at each of your restaurants, what should it be and why?
At East Side Banh Mi, it would definitely be the Veggie Banh Mi with roasted eggplant and crispy tofu. You probably won’t find this kind of veggie version at most banh mi shops. It’s not really a traditional main filling, but of course, all of the other components are traditional. We are also very proud of our bread, which we bake in-house a few times a day. So, if you go to ESBM, you should definitely try a sandwich because of the bread.
At East Side Pho, it would be the Beef Pho. It’s the dish I grew up eating the most, so it’s very special to me. When we opened ESP, my mom and four of my aunties came out to oversee the soup recipes and put their stamp of approval on the flavors. That is something I will never forget.
At Sweeza, it would be the Carne Asada Quesadilla because we think it’s a very accurate interpretation of the ones we used to eat in San Francisco, which is what the concept is inspired by — the mission-style taqueria!
You’re celebrating East Side Banh Mi’s fourth anniversary this year. Congrats! What has been the biggest success in those four years? What about the biggest challenge?
The biggest success would definitely be the super positive response and feedback we get on all of the food. It’s all due to our tremendous team that operates the restaurant every day, and we are very lucky to have such an amazing crew.
The biggest challenge is that sometimes there isn’t enough time to create and play with new food and put specials on the menu. We do get a good amount of limited-time dishes on the menu for specials, but we would always like to do more! Also, our small kitchen has been and always will be a challenge.
You mentor young, aspiring restaurateurs through an incubator program. Can you tell us about it?
We have always wanted to give back to those who need support and mentoring, just like the folks who helped us as we were coming up in the business.
One of the main focuses for this year, which we have also done in the past, is to open our doors to the restaurant community to provide a place for folks to pop up in our space on Sundays while we are closed. We don’t charge them anything, of course, and they basically get to have a fully operating restaurant for their own use. We also use the incubator program to help folks create their dream concept, where we assist with real estate, capital, marketing, etc.
It feels good to help in this way.
Who were your mentors along the way?
First is my grandma and mom, of course. On the actual business side, it would be chef Charles Phan from The Slanted Door group. He taught me a lot about running restaurants and many great techniques and recipes we still use today.
What underrated ingredient do you wish more people used or knew about?
Palm sugar! It’s a different kind of sweetener and is totally common in Southeast Asian cooking. It adds a slightly different kind of sweetness and really balances well with acid. We use it for drinks, desserts, curries, and savory dishes. It’s much better than processed white sugar!
What’s next on the horizon?
I think we are good for now with the three restaurants. Ha! Maybe we’ll open a few more if we have the right opportunities. We still have a few fully built-out concepts ready for launch, but we are looking for the right real estate and opportunity to come to us.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
Work hard to play hard! Meaning, we really need to put in work to be able to enjoy ourselves on the other side. I still love what we do day in and day out, but I definitely enjoy my quiet time, rest, and relaxation more and more as we get older.
Outside of faith, family, and friends, what three things can’t you live without?
Our dogs, fitness, and good food.
LIGHTNING ROUND
What is your go-to comfort dish, and where do you get it? Eating at Sweeza! Especially a secret healthy burrito I make with our ingredients.
What’s on your bedside table? A water bottle, a charger, and a Theragun.
What’s one thing you won’t take out of your purse, not including a cell phone? I don’t usually carry a purse. Instead, [I bring] a lunch bag with a protein-heavy snack, just in case I get stranded somewhere and get hungry.
Favorite hidden gem in Nashville? King Market in Antioch. Love the crab rangoon!
What destination tops your travel bucket list? The Champagne region of France.
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Southern women are nothing short of inspiring. Meet more of them over at our FACES archives!
