The beeping of the oven, the shaking of the drink mixer, and the crunching sound of cutting into vegetables: they’re all familiar sounds to Don Vongtheung.
He’s the owner of Banhdicted, which he opened back in 2020 after realizing the corporate lifestyle wasn’t for him and after owning a smoothie and raw juice spot. He grew up going to Phoenix to go eat banh mi. Now it’s a staple of his restaurant, which he brought to Tucson.
After going to San Diego with his wife Kim, an immigrant from Vietnam, and eating the banh mi at their favorite spot in California, they decided to create their own version of the tasty Vietnamese sandwich. You get your choice of a protein, such as chicken, beef, or shrimp. It also has cucumbers cilantro, pickled carrots, and Japanese mayonnaise all on a baguette bread.
However, Vongtheung realized something that was very eye-opening to him.
“I thought everybody knew what a banh mi was, everybody, right? Boy were we wrong,” Vongtheung said with a laugh.
It was a concept he said was hard to sell. However, he wanted to expand as quickly as possible so Tucsonans could get used to the Vietnamese specialty dish.
“They always ask, 'Don, when are you coming to east side? Don, when are you going to come to Sahuarita? Don, when are you going to come to Gilbert?' And I was like 'Wow! We got people from all over the place!” Vongtheung exclaimed.
Apart from his Orange Grove and La Cholla location and his food truck at the Nugget in Midtown, he now has a spot in the Tucson Foothills as of a few weeks ago, resting against a backdrop of the Santa Catalina Mountains.
Vongtheung is hoping by bringing his business to the Foothills, the economy in the area will grow.
“We also provide more jobs for everybody,” he said, mentioning that he donates to local schools.
The Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity said year over year, in July, the Tucson Metro Area and all the other six metro areas in Arizona gained jobs.
Daiso is an international Japanese value store chain that just moved in to the Tucson Foothills this past weekend.
On Saturday and Sunday, a steady sound of beeping permeated the air as people bought various products. The line outside stretched well into the rest of the plaza.
“We also bring in jobs and a lot of community engagement,” Roya Kalani, Daiso’s USA area manager said. “We already offer great value for really amazing quality products.”
Their other Arizona stores were so successful she said they decided to expand to the Foothills.
“We’ve expanded a lot in the Phoenix area and we had a lot customers really excited for us to come down to Tucson,” Kalani said.
As for whether Tucson will see any other locations, Kalani said Tucsonans can expect another location by the beginning of next year.
Meanwhile, Vongtheung is happy customers have also caught on to his idea. To bring in a sense of community, he also lets customers vote on permanent menu items.
“It gives people a sense of, ability to, ya… we’re a part of Banhdicted’s growth,” Vongtheung said. “Our patrons that eat our food everyday, they’re our greatest motivators.”
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Andrew Christiansen is a reporter for KGUN 9 . Before joining the team, Andrew reported in Corpus Christi, Texas for KRIS6 News, Action 10 News and guest reported in Spanish for Telemundo Corpus Christi. Share your story ideas with Andrew by emailing andrew.christiansen@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook , or Twitter .
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