Away from the table
Mekong Cafe turns to grocery sales, takeout to get through COVID-19
When Mekong Cafe, 5930 W. North Ave., opened in 2008, it quickly became known for its lunchtime buffet, a place where owner Banh Phongsavat and her children could share the foods of her roots. ● Naming the restaurant for the longest river in southeast Asia was a nod to the river's reach, a connection to their past and present. Mekong Cafe's menu is a crossroads of Lao, Thai and Vietnamese dishes. ● The name alone tells you a piece of the Phongsavat family's story, as does every dish on the dinner menu, from the sticky rice and dipping sauces to cucumber salad, egg rolls, pho and Grandma Chanta's sausage. ●Like so many others, dealing with the pandemic over the past year has forced the family to rethink how they run their restaurant. When their well-known buffet closed, the small family operation was left struggling. They added online ordering. Takeout and curbside customers stepped up, but owners knew they had to make a big shift to not only survive but thrive.
They’ve done that before.
Late last year, they made a decision, said co-owner Sichanh Volp, daughter of Banh Phongsavat. The family held a sale, offering up every last chafing dish and buffet accessory to clear out space for their next venture: an Asian market.
With Mekong Cafe entering its 13th year this month, the family intends for it to be a one-stop shop, offering Asian goods, grocery staples, ready-made meals and an updated menu for takeout and local delivery.
Volp, who has four brothers, handles much of the cooking with her mother and sister-in-law, Boualoy Phongsavat, while her brother Bountanh Phongsavat has handled most of the duties at the front of the house. She talks about shifting dreams, adjusting their menu, and the anticipated opening of grocery operations this month.
Question: What is your family’s background? What’s the story behind Mekong Cafe?
Answer: We’re refugees. I came here when I was 5 years old. My mom kind of started working in a factory job, then working for restaurants like King and I. I think that’s where a lot of Asian cooks that start out work. She had this dream to open her own restaurant. This is a family-owned and -operated business. It is my brothers and I, my mom, my sister-in-law. We are Laotian, and we offer Thai, Lao and Vietnamese.
During the Vietnam War, as refugees we were in the Thailand camp. Hearing my mom’s stories and her struggles shaped me. … My mom was working in the restaurant industry for more than 10 years before she decided to open her own restaurant.
I didn’t have any experience in cooking like my mom cooks. I knew the basics. In the Laotian culture the girl has to be in the kitchen and learn from the mom. There are no written recipes. You’re just taught from a very young age. You are taught the ingredients, the specific dishes and the taste. This tastes right, it is done.
Q: What was the first dish you learned from your mom?
A: As a kid, my mom taught me how to make sticky rice and jasmine rice. That’s a must. We steam the rice in a bamboo steamer. Measuring cups are not known in our culture. I’d have to stick my hand in the pot. My mom would say you just have to make sure the water passes your index finger, right there. That was something to master, jasmine rice. That was an accomplishment. Laotian cuisine, our main staple is rice, that and cucumber salad, papaya salad.
Q: What’s behind the name Mekong Cafe?
A: We asked, “Mom, what do you name your restaurant?” I want to name it Mekong Cafe; the Mekong River reminds her of her homeland. She hasn’t been back for more than 30 years. She has never gone back. The restaurant at least makes her able to feel she can share her culture.
Q: How did you come to the decision to no longer having the buffet and table service?
A: A lot of our customers are upset and disappointed. We miss our buffet, too. We really enjoyed cooking the buffet food. … It was fun for us to cook because we were able to put out items and see if our customers would like it …
When they did the order to stay at home, we just weren’t getting enough
people to come through the doors.
Q: Tell us about removing the seating and adding the Asian grocery.
A: We want to carry necessities and cater to our customers for everyday use, like eggs, veggies, and still stick to our roots with Asian goods.
Q: What was the first thing you had to stock in the grocery?
A: The curry paste. We use this ingredient so much we have to stock it. We ordered everything we would use, and that was the very first thing, Then the