Las Vegas later this year will get an outpost of Pho Ga Tony Tony. Plans to expand from the east coast to Sin City were always in the cards, but the pandemic put those moves on hold originally, Co-Owners Chef Tony Le and Vinh Nguyen in 2020 told the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.
That was until the “best deal” became available to replace Pho Little Saigon, at 3775 Spring Mountian Road in Chinatown, Le told What Now Las Vegas in a telephone interview Friday.
Anticipating a June 2021 debut, Le and Nguyen are in permitting for Pho Ga Tony Tony with an estimated $150,000 in construction costs to make the space “more modern.”
“We’re opening the same concept as what we have in Atlanta, but with a twist,” Le said. While the two existing locations — and a lone outpost in Philadelphia run by Le’s parents — offer a limited menu of deconstructed pho (chicken served on the side, “guts and all”), Pho Ga Tony Tony Vegas will be home to a bar, longer hours, and a few extra menu items.
In addition to its chicken pho (or Pho Ga), the restaurant is going to add grilled barbecue pork and chicken, and a rice platter so guests “have choices,” Le said. “Right now, it’s basically one choice.”
In choosing Vegas, and future locations for opening, Le said the quality of chicken nearby is paramount. If Le can’t source high-quality organic cage-free chicken, he won’t open a Pho Ga, the chef said.
“As we expand, we’re focused on cities that have good chicken,” Le said. “I have to go to each prospective city and see what farm is around there so I can taste the chicken and ensure it’s the best.”
Le is scouting locations in California, New York, and even Toronto with plans to open future locations “once the pandemic is over.”
“We’re excited to let people try how we think chicken pho should be,” Le said. “In Philadelphia, we’re well known. I want people to know about us elsewhere, and to see how chicken pho should really taste.”
