Help Us Rebuild Saigon Social

On the morning of Monday May 2, 2022, a fire occurred at Saigon Social. The restaurant is temporarily closed while damages are being assessed and repairs can be made. If you’ve been following the journey of Saigon Social, you will know how heartbreaking this is for its owner Helen Nguyen, for us as her friends and for the members of the Saigon Social community, including its staff, its patrons, and all the people she has selflessly helped over the last two years.

Since the very beginning, Saigon Social, a restaurant that has only ever existed in a pandemic, has been faced with hardship, with one incident after another. From gas outages, sudden shutdowns, labor shortages, Helen’s journey with Saigon Social was documented by Gary He for the New York Times and what touched all of us was not only her perseverance through tough times, but her heart and sincere kindness. In what has been extremely difficult times for the elderly Asian community, Helen has been a shining light for them. She cooks for Asian seniors who look forward to her meals every week as part of Heart of Dinner and Feed Forward, two organizations focused on fighting food insecurity. She regularly makes sure Mr Chen, an elderly man who collects cans near her restaurant, is fed and taken care of. When he was assaulted during a time of increased Anti-Asian hate crimes, she hosted a pop up event and raised funds for him.

At the start of the pandemic, she served comfort meals to frontline hospital workers and through her takeout window, she donated food to anyone in need even though her restaurant was operating at a loss and had not yet opened for dining service.

The list of what Helen has given to the community goes on and on. Our point is that Helen cooks with love. She is a true community leader who has set an example for all of us: to be kind and to give back no matter what.

Damages to the restaurant are being assessed, but we have set a $75,000 fundraising goal as a starting point to contribute towards the cost of repairs and the costs associated with keeping her restaurant afloat, including taking care of restaurant staff who will be out of work while the restaurant is closed.

Saigon Social is more than just a restaurant. It's a place of love, community and belonging. Please give what you can to help her rebuild her restaurant and sustain her team as soon as possible because it is undeniably clear that Saigon Social makes the community a better place. Helen shows up for the community every day and it’s time for us to show up for her.

Her friends,

Hannah Pham and Phillip Lim.

You can find out more about Saigon Social at their website here, or follow them on Instagram.