Meet Vu Truong | Pub Owner, Community minded.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Vu Truong and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Vu, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I was ready to be my own boss at the time. I was also searching for something to do that I would “enjoy working at.’ Quite a bit of soul searching and just research in general on what I could be successful at and enjoy doing.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I started my business (The Phoenix on Westheimer) roughly 16 years ago. There were lots of ups and downs in the business; much was due to external factors. We worked through those problems and did what we could to move forward. Much of our success came because of the bonds with built with our patrons and community.

Through the years, patrons and friends reached out to me to do events. Some of those events were for fun, but many were community minded, like fundraisers of sorts. Through that process, it was evident that community and philanthropy were very important part of my business and life. After 10 years in business, the friends I had built bonds with doing the philanthropic work formed “The Friends of the Phoenix”, with is recognized as (501c3) non-profit. Our goal was to formalize the philanthropic work that we had been doing all this time, with the focus being to give back to the community. My goal, is to the the fundraising arm or mechanism for the causes we identify as worthy.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Houston is such a diverse city. There’s something for everyone so it really depends on who’s visiting. In any case, I think of Houston as being the biggest small town in the US. Everyone knows each other, and if you don’t, it is really easy to strike up a conversation with anyone around!

It’s also important to say that has everything that a big city can offer: Sports, Museums, Music, and FOOD!
I would definitely a huge Vietnamese, Chinese, and Korean population, not to mention the latino and black communities. You tell me what you want to eat, and I will gladly take you to eat some authentic cooking. Street Food isn’t as common, but instead there are food trucks galore. If Fine Dining is your thing, there are tons of Steak Houses and Sushi Restaurants.

I would have to say, each day pick a different area of town and spend the day there and immerse!
Downtown (Astros or Rockets games depending on the season) Montrose, Museum District, Galleria, Herman Park/Zoo, Kemah, Bellaire (Vietnamese/Chinese area)

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My community. The experiences that we have with the people around us shape/build us.

Website: www.phoenixonwestheimer.com

Instagram: the_Phoenix_Brewpub

Twitter: @PhoenixBrewPub

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePhoenixOW