A popular noodle bar in the Queen City is now open in Downtown Concord and will celebrate its grand opening on Saturday.
Buba Kitchen, located in the space formerly occupied by Whiskey & Wine, offers pho, ramen, and Asian street tapas on North Main Street. The restaurant is co-owned by Trumin Nguyen, who also owns a Manchester location, and after five years, decided to expand. He chose Concord after a few years of researching restaurant markets in New Hampshire. While speaking with his customers in Manchester, many said they wished there was a location in Concord. Foodies online, too, remarked about their desire to have a pho place in Concord.
For a couple of years, Nguyen had been speaking with Remi Hinxhia, the owner of the building, about expanding into the capital city. Coronavirus stalled their talks. But after, they started talking again about a Concord location.
“I said, ‘OK, let’s try it again’,” he said.
Nguyen began cooking at 10 to assist his family and care for two younger siblings in his native Vietnam. He said his parents were never home to prepare lunch to feed the children, so he would gather wood to cook with to feed them. Nguyen always enjoyed cooking, even if it was a chore.
Nguyen came to the United States in 2007 as an exchange student when he was 18. He studied business with a concentration in engineering in Washington State for a year before moving to Maine to live with other family members and continue his studies. His aunt, he said, had a full restaurant for about 20 years, and he worked for her while attending college.
“I learned, and she teached me how to cook there, as well, so I could get some fundamentals in cooking,” he said.
One of the things about cooking, Nguyen said, is the ability to experiment with different foods to create meals. Buba Kitchen will feature pho, ramen, and Asian tapas street food. Nguyen’s pho features a broth simmered for 24 hours with beef marrow bones, spices, and a choice of noodles (egg, rice, and other noodles). He said pho is good in the winter if someone has a cold or to warm up the body. Vegetables can be added or modified based on the customer’s request.
“It’s comfort,” he said, “it’s easy, it’s healthy.”
It features a full bar with 41 seats, mostly with tables, but a few at the bar, too. He can add six more seats but wants to keep it fluid and not so cramped.
“I want people to be comfortable in here,” he said. “I don’t want people jam-packed in here.”
At the same time, Nguyen may have to add them if it gets really busy and takes off.
Nguyen had a soft opening on Dec. 2 for family, friends, and fans to see how things went, get “honest feedback,” and make some tweaks before the grand opening on Saturday.
“I think we’re confident we can pull it off (in Concord),” he said.
Nguyen said he might consider a third location but wanted to see how Concord works out. He is thinking of Portsmouth, Nashua, or Salem as possible locations.
“It’s not easy, for sure, but I want to see how we do up here,” he said. “This one is low and small, so we should be able to handle it. It’s not too big of a place.”
Source : Patch
