<div> Before she opened Tin Tea, Northfield's only Vietnamese food shop last year, Chau Truong felt empty and purposeless. Despite a busy life as a St. Olaf College student studying psychology and business, Truong said taking classes online during the COVID-19 restrictions left her feeling deflated. "I love customer service," said the 20-year old from her high top perch of the parking lot window of Tin Tea. "I love talking, networking and being creative. I also like to solve problems." Figuring out solutions has been passed down to Truong, the only daughter of hard-working parents Tung and Liem Truong, who immigrated to the United States from Vietnam 30 years ago. Like her dedicated parents, Truong said she probably worked 60-70 hours a week last year in order to get her new business off the ground. She's been involved with every aspect of the business, from designing the store, to marketing and social media, and inventing the recipes for the hot and cold drinks. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> She concocted her own recipes for the milk teas and fruit teas by watching online tutorials. The food recipes for the spring rolls and chicken, pork, tofu and vegetable bahn mi — a crusty baguette sandwich with smeared with pate, pickled vegetables, onion, coriander and cilantro — come from her mother. This isn't the first time she's had to balance school and a job; during high school, Truong worked as a barista in two different coffee shops in Faribault. Supportive Vietnamese community In addition to her family, Truong is getting plenty support from her community. "I know all the Vietnamese business owners in Northfield who run the nail salons," she said. "They have been very supportive. They are regular customers and offer helpful advice. They are so entrepreneurial." <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> But the support comes with plenty of outside opinions. Truong said she's heard many customers ask why she doesn't add the popular Vietnamese soup pho to her list of menu offerings. Others have pressed her to expand her food menu and open a restaurant. Before opening on June 25, 2021, she conducted a lot of research into current trends in the food and beverage industry, as well as what other Vietnamese offerings were available around southern Minnesota. Truong said the closet city featuring authentic bahn mi and spring rolls was in Burnsville. "I like the simplicity of our menu," she said. Tin Tea's beverage menu features milk teas, fruit teas, and hot teas, both caffeinated and decaffeinated, as well as fruit flavors, like mango, kiwi, elderflower and dragonfruit. The long list also includes wintermelon, rose white milk, lavender milk and hazelnut. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> Also on the beverage menu are smoothies, and the bubble teas available with tapioca pearls, known as boba, crystal boba and popping pearls. Location, location, location Truong said she loves her store's location off of Jefferson Road because of how visible Tin Tea is from Highway 3. "I love all the parking spaces we have, the visibility we get from the highway, and the sunsets we see from here," she said. People warned her that a strip mall location would not have a lot of foot traffic. That hasn't been a factor at all, especially with all the middle school, high school and college students who visit the shop in droves. "We get customers from as far away as Faribault, Owatonna and Medford," she said. One day, Tin Tea had three buses pull up from Shattuck-St. Mary's School in Faribault. "Fortunately, the student life coordinator called ahead to let us know, so we had time to prepare the tapioca for the bubble tea." <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> Some school nights, she said, the front room, which features casual seating and a few high top tables, is filled to the brim with students. Other nights, there's been a line stretching outside. "People just love bubble tea," she said, smiling. "Northfield is the perfect hot spot for a young business like mine. Bubble tea is a rising craze with millennials. I wanted to jump on it here before anyone else did." A family affair Running a business full-time, while being a full-time college student has literally been a labor of love for Truong. "I couldn't do it without my family, my friends and my boyfriend (Thor Keilen)," she said. As owner and general manager of Tin Tea, Truong credits her parents for teaching her how to communicate her love through food. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> "I owe them everything," she said of Tung and Liem. "I watched them work every single second to make life better for their children." The store is named for Truong's 13-year-old brother Tin. "I wasn't supposed to do this during college," said Truong. "But when we found the space, it was impulsive. I had a conversation with my family about running the business while expanding my education, and we went from there." With initial help from her parents for the startup funding, she now has nine employees, half of whom know how to prepare the chewy tapioca pearls, which requires an hour and a half of cooking in boiling water. "We have not had any kitchen accidents," she said proudly. The Truong family left Saigon, now called Ho Chi Min City, for the United States 30 years ago. Tung came first, followed by Liem and baby Dat four years later. The family settled in Faribault, where Tung worked a demanding factory job. Chau and Tin were born here. <nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate> Truong said she loves Vietnamese food. "The food is so healthy with all the fresh veggies; it's so good and so cheap," she said. "It's the food that ties me to my culture." With her maternal grandparents, aunts, cousins and uncles still living in Vietnam, she has visited the south Asian country at least four times in her young life. She plans to spend her winter break from St. Olaf in Vietnam with family members. Truong will begin her junior year at St. Olaf College this fall. She is a psychology major with management concentration. "I love my professors and my peers," she said. Outstanding student A 2020 graduate of Faribault High School, Truong was class valedictorian, class president, captain of the tennis team, math team, science team, and president of the National Honor Society. Besides her family, Truong credits the women at the Northfield Area Chamber of Commerce who have mentored her on every aspect of running her own business. Jane Bartho, interim director of the Chamber, said she was impressed by Truong's ability to spot a business niche and immediately fill it. "Her story brings me to happy tears," said Bartho. Julie Buchwald, advertising sales and staff writer for Entertainment magazine, said she was impressed by Truong's positive spirit and high energy. A few weeks ago, Chamber members, community members, family, friends and Tin Tea staffers assembled to watch Truong cut the ribbon in front of her business. "I felt super proud of myself that the business had made it a year," said Truong. "It was so great to share that moment with my staff and my family." <nbtemplate data-content="eyJhcGlLZXkiOiAiZDgxM2Q5Yzg3NTI3N2IzNWU0YzRmZDM0NTAyMjJkNmQiLCAiZGVzY3JpcHRpb24iOiAiU3Vic2NyaWJlIHRvIE5vcnRoZmllbGQgTmV3cyIsICJldmVudCI6ICJtcF9zdWJzY3JpcHRpb25fYnV0dG9uX2NsaWNrX2V2ZW50IiwgInVybCI6ICJodHRwczovL2FwZzA0Lm5ld3p3YXJlLmNvbS9zczcwdjIvYWRhbXMvY29tbW9uL3RlbXBsYXRlLmpzcD9za2luPXN2aCZpbml0PXN0YXJ0JmluaXRFZGl0aW9uPU5GTiIsICJtZWRpYUlkIjogMTU5MzIwMCwgInRpdGxlIjogIlRpbiBUZWEgb3duZXIgc2VydmVzIFZpZXRuYW1lc2UgdHJlYXRzIHdpdGggYSBzaWRlIG9mIGlubm92YXRpb24ifQ==" data-id="MediaPlatformAmplitudeButton"></nbtemplate></div>

Mountain View, CA

Before she opened Tin Tea, Northfield's only Vietnamese food shop last year, Chau Truong felt empty and purposeless.
                Despite a busy life as a St. Olaf College student studying psychology and business, Truong said taking classes online during the COVID-19 restrictions left her feeling deflated.
                \"I love customer service,\" said the 20-year old from her high top perch of the parking lot window of Tin Tea. \"I love talking, networking...

Tin Tea owner serves Vietnamese treats with a side of innovation

NewsBreak

Before she opened Tin Tea, Northfield's only Vietnamese food shop last year, Chau Truong felt empty and purposeless.
                Despite a busy life as a St. Olaf College student studying psychology and business, Truong said taking classes online during the COVID-19 restrictions left her feeling deflated.
                "I love customer service," said the 20-year old from her high top perch of the parking lot window of Tin Tea. "I love talking, networking...