In today’s interview, we’re diving into the heart of Ba Bar Green with the owner and operator, Teresa Nguyen. Since opening its doors in South Lake Union in 2020, Ba Bar Green has been redefining plant-based dining with its vibrant and flavorful Southeast Asian-inspired menu. From innovative plant-based dishes like their tofu bánh mì to the one-of-a-kind plant-based kimchi, Teresa shares the story behind the restaurant’s creation, its challenges, and her passion for supporting local businesses. Let’s take a closer look at the journey of Ba Bar Green and the meaningful impact it’s having on the Seattle food scene.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Hi! Tell us all about Ba Bar Green.
Hi, my name is Teresa Nguyen. I’m the Owner and Operator of Ba Bar and Ba Bar Green. Ba Bar Green has been serving South Lake Union since 2020, so we’ll be celebrating five years this November. Ba Bar Green is a fully plant-based and vegetarian restaurant, and the menu is also newly available at our Capitol Hill location in addition to South Lake Union.
We got this inspiration through our sisters. My youngest sister, she became a pescatarian. She was only eating organic and plant-based. And then my husband Eric’s younger sister started sending us her favorite dishes and saying “Should you try this? You know, it’s delicious. I love eating this and that.” And so one year during COVID, we just sat down with our chef, Chris Michel, and we said “We would love to explore this concept.”
He had just come back from a Southeast Asia trip and he said, “Oh, I have a lot of great ideas.” So he became our partner and business owner as well. He helped develop dishes and he came up with things like plant-based kimchi. Can you believe that? There’s no fish sauce, no oyster, nothing, just all plant-based. So the entire menu of Ba Bar Green is vegetarian and plant-based.
So what are some of the highlights on the Ba Bar Green menu that people really enjoy?
The bánh mì is very very popular within the Vietnamese community and worldwide has been catching on to the Southeast Asian bánh mì. So bánh mì is one of the first items we thought of. So we have the tofu bánh mì and then the chorizo bánh mì is all plant-based from Beyond Meat and then the sweet potato laksa is also delicious and popular. If you eat it you couldn’t tell it’s plant-based.
Our chef Chris Michel came up with the kimchi fried rice because he’s also half Korean, and so he come up with kimchi fried rice and we all love kimchi. We’re slowly adding on, like the beet salad. Wherever I go to a restaurant and there’s beet salad I order it right away, and so of course we have beet salad.
So you’re operating restaurants in three different locations, and I know it’s really tough for any small business, but particularly for a restaurant. What are some challenges you’re facing?
We just had a monthly financial meeting this morning and with everything price-wise increasing, even food costs continue to increase, we have to be very conscious about what expenses to cut, what else we can do with the food product, and how we can improve on making our food.
So it’s a challenge to continue, not only during COVID, but after COVID, and thinking about how much we do per month and what’s the bottom line we’re looking at, but I’m hopeful that we can weather the storm. We are trying to be very vigilant about what to spend and what not to spend, but also continue to provide benefits like healthcare for our employees who work 30 hours a week or more. My husband always says, “There’s a change every 10 years. If you don’t evolve, your business will not last.”
We continue to assess what’s going on in Seattle and what’s going on with our client base. We used to have a lot of students coming here, and now we don’t have students coming here. There are lot of things to consider, but it’s a passion. We have to do what it takes to keep it moving.
What are some other small businesses that you like to support when you’re not here at your own restaurant?
- On the days that we’re off, if we’re in Seattle, we love to go to Bar Del Corso
- We love to support Carmelos, they’re right next to us
- We love Cherry Street Coffee
Intentionalist is all about spending like it matters and encouraging people to support the diverse locally owned small businesses in their community. Could you tell us a little bit about why this is important to you?
So I think, for example, clothing is a different animal? Clothing is mainly big, big companies, but there are some smaller companies. But in hospitality, I would say 70% are small business. So to spend money in the local economy is very important to keep the economy going.
During COVID and even after COVID it’s extremely important to spend money in the local economy to keep the small business going, to keep the employment going. Everybody will benefit from it.
What else do you want people to know about Ba Bar Green?
I would love people to know Ba Bar Green is all plant-based, there’s no sugar added, everything is vegetarian. If we didn’t tell you it’s vegetarian, you wouldn’t know. It tastes just like a regular dish, except no meat! If you’re craving for meat, there’s nothing that can substitute for meat. But you know, when you eat a sweet potato laksa, it has amazing and bold flavor, no sugar added, no color added, everything is purely plant-based. So come try us out!