Sesame Dinette, the Vietnamese-owned and -operated space on Pacific Avenue, is up for sale as its elderly owners seek retirement and their daughter focuses her efforts on her endeavors in Los Angeles. While best scenario would be someone taking over the concept with its recipes, it is likely that the space—which can easily double as a catering operation given the size of its kitchen—will become something new.
Ready for retirement—and looking for some respite.
The choice to sell isn’t an easy one, no matter how it is diced amongst small business owners. After all, their businesses provide routine, purpose, and income—but Sesame Dinette is different in one sense: It brought an already-retired couple out of retirement in a partnership with their daughter. And the time has come to return back to a time that is a little less hectic.
“My mom [Judy Mai Nguyễn] is 76 years old,” said daughter Linda Sivrican. “If she was 10 years younger, she’d still be living this dream. Cooking and community has always been her passion. Hospitality is reserved for those with huge hearts because it’s a lot of work. Nothing gives my mom more joy than to be of service. If you’ve dined with us, I think you could taste the love. We hope Long Beach will open their hearts to the next buyer as you all have for us. Thank you to everyone who has supported us.”
The ask? Take over the lease and offer cash for equipment—and even the recipes if you’d like, which Linda calls a “best scenario. If they want the concept and name, we can do that too.”
The kitchen alone is some 1000 square feet, which Linda’s “mom originally loved it for catering. I think someone younger with more help would do well there. Sadly, I’m here in LA with my perfume biz and family, so I can’t help them grow.”
For those interested in the space, DM @sesame.dinette or email info@sesamedinette.com
Sesame Dinette was distinctly Vietnamese in a city where Vietnamese food is dominated by Cambodian and Thai interpretations.
In January 2020, Nguyễn purchased Long Beach’s aging Retro Saigon Bistro, where trays of Chinese American fare sat behind steam-fogged service counter windows. She intended to open a catering kitchen with a business partner from Phước Lộc Thọ, a mall in Westminster’s Little Saigon. But when the COVID-19 pandemic rippled across the Southland and one of the Nguyen’s investors dropped out, Sivrican says the family was left wondering what to do with the space.
With it, her and Linda—along with father Hank—opened Sesame Dinette. It offered beautiful interplays between traditional and creative—which was best illustrated in two steamy bowls. The first is phở đuôi bò, a classic oxtail pho with a clean, nearly clear broth and chunks of beef falling off the tailbone. The other is mì vịt tiềm chay, a vegetarian version of a noodle soup that features braised “duck” tofu, and a broth with the fragrant aromas of jujube dates and shiitake mushrooms.
With it, if offered a distinctly Vietnamese perspective of Vietnamese food, which has historically been dominated by our Cambodian and Thai communities here in Long Beach. (For example, Phở Hông Phát, the city’s beloved pho spot that is often touted as the best, has been owned and operated by a Cambodian family since day one.)
The mixture of closings and openings has made the Long Beach food scene a wild roller coaster.
The juxtaposition of closures and openings has been a wild one. To put in a nerdy perspective, when writing articles, WordPress tells me the tags I use most—and two of the top ten are “restaurant openings” and “restaurant closures.”
We’ve had stellar openings—from Sonoratown to Telefèric—to saddening shutters—Seabirds, Mangette, Solita, Babette…—that have come to define the very roller coaster our culinary community faces. This is on top of the multitude of restaurants up for sale, some of which have already closed (Seabirds) or have exchanged owners (Little Coyote).
In all frankness, expect more of this roller coaster—but eventually, a nice evening out as these newer spaces offer a bit more comfort and familiarity as they find their patronages.
The food was good but they did not have a bathroom, which is a deal breaker. No bathroom available at the laundromat next door, nor at the gas station on the corner. Ask me how I know, lol. This space is not made for a restaurant, period.