Photo Karen Graham.
Susan Tung at her new restaurant
On Valentine’s Day, local restaurateur Susan Tung held a “soft launch” of her new restaurant on Hunter Street in Peterborough, even as she worked through the completion of her degree in Education. Shortly after, COVID-19 forced the closure of most business in the province. Susan took advantage of the closure to convert workspaces, source containers for sauces streamline online and phone order processes to keep orders and receipts clearly matched. Her customers waited for her doors to reopen, following her extensive social media presence.
Susan and her family spent years in the restaurant business, owning and operating Golden Wheel, which was started by Susan’s parents. Hanoi House is Susan’s baby. From the fresh, focused Vietnamese menu to the modern vibe in the restaurant – it is all her. It’s a style of food she loves, with fresh vibrant ingredients and a lot less frying and one that expands the ethnic diversity of menu choices in the area. The menu features Pho, which has been her favourite food since childhood but growing up in Cavan Monaghan, she had to drive to Toronto to satisfy her Pho craving. Now all she has to do is come to work…
One of the key ingredients in her restaurant formula is consistency. Recipes are clear and implementation is consistent; there is no room for interpretation. Many customers are enthusiastic about the range of vegetarian/vegan menu options at Hanoi House. Many items are also gluten-free. The lack of flexibility in recipe interpretation could have presented a problem during the pandemic with has created challenges in sourcing supplies. Thanks to an online menu, when ingredients are unavailable, items requiring it are immediately removed, preventing orders that cannot be filled. The consistency also makes the business scalable, and Susan is already thinking about where the next Hanoi House will open. Hint: it must be in a college/university town.
The Hunter Street West location puts Hanoi House firmly in the restaurant district in downtown Peterborough, and despite rumours about issues with the area, Susan has been pleasantly surprised by the small community vibe, where everyone knows your name and shop and restaurants owners support each other. She credits her landlord, Ashburnham Realty, with contributing to the neighbourhood feel.
Susan is delighted with the progress of her new restaurant, but perhaps her Education degree will be put to use in the future in a College Hospitality program one day. At the moment, teaching will take a back seat to her restaurant venture, and she’s fine with that.
To learn more about the restaurant or to place an order, visit her website at hanoihouseptbo.com. KG
