Tee Tran Will Make You Want To Be A Better Person

The Monster Pho restaurant owner shares what many get wrong about refugees and how his background has fueled his passion to help others in need.

It’s hard to keep track of all the ways Monster Pho owner Tee Tran has helped his community in Oakland, California. During the COVID-19 pandemic, his restaurant donated almost 20,000 meals through World Central Kitchen, gave free coffee to health care workers and free produce to anyone in need, offered customer discounts for donated goods, held a backpack drive and started a yearly event giving free pho to anyone wanting a hot meal — no questions asked. In this edition of Voices in Food, Tran shares in his own words how his life as a Vietnamese refugee — and more pointedly, how his mom — has inspired his passion for helping others, even when he was struggling himself.

I have lived in the U.S. since 1989, specifically Oakland. This country is where I grew up with my mom and two older brothers. It’s where I started my own family; my two little girls were born here. It’s where I made my American dream come true, opening up my very own restaurant, Monster Pho.