Austin Chen said that after entering the corporate world right out of college, he felt he wanted to do something different. This April, Chen opened a Vietnamese bakery called Baguette Bros with his brother Ethan Chen.
“I was sort of just over corporate nine to five, it was like eight to six more so,” Chen said about his previous job. “I just wanted to do something on my own.”
Chen, who is originally from the San Gabriel Valley in California, said that he had always noticed a lack of Vietnamese bakeries in the Tualatin area and felt it was a niche he could sufficiently fill.
“I’ve grown up eating the stuff that I’m serving now,” Chen said. “After moving here, my family and I just had a hard time finding something that was like a piece of home. And that’s what led us to opening up this Baguette Bros bakery.”
After looking over his family’s “secret book” of baking recipes, Chen took a leap of faith and set up shop at 7028 SW Nyberg St.
“I felt like this area was just lacking a choice like this here,” Chen said. “My parents always had their own secret family recipes that we knew how to make at home and whatnot, so I decided to take a leap of faith and open something like this, so that I was in control of my own time.”
The menu, which primarily features Chen family recipes, is made up of Vietnamese sandwiches, baked goods and coffee. A lot of the menu is made in-house daily.
“Our bread, our baos, all that stuff is family recipes,” Chen said. “We make them every day, here in-house, and it all comes from, like, a secret book.”
Baguette Bros, which was named after Chen and his brother Ethan, opened its doors on April 18 and, according to Chen, has already established a healthy roster of regulars.
“We have a good community of regulars already, within a month,” Chen said. “I think our biggest challenge has been getting word out to the community.”
Chen said his parents were “excited to help out” with the restaurant and lend a helping hand wherever they could. Chen’s brother, Ethan, is still in college but is helping out with the restaurant’s finances.
Chen said the restaurant’s logo, prominently featuring two chefs with baguette bags slung over their shoulders, depicts him and his brother “getting the bag.”
“I’m loving it,” Chen said about owning the bakery so far. “It hasn’t felt like work…I haven’t felt that burnout that I did pretty quickly in the corporate world, and I meet new people every day in here, which is pretty nice for me.”
Baguette Bros is located at 7028 SW Nyberg St, Tualatin. Open 7 Days a Week from 9 a.m to 8 p.m. (503) 885-3861. eatbaguettebros.com
