Richmond is losing its longtime award-winning Vietnamese restaurant.
Bánh Mì Très Bon suddenly announced on September 8 that its Richmond location has closed after 10 years, in a farewell signed by owner Lan Do.
The closure affects their Richmond outpost in Central by Garden City.
Its White Rock location continues to welcome customers, with the team inviting Richmond regulars to visit.
“After 10 wonderful years, Banh Mi Tres Bon Richmond location has closed,” the team wrote in its Instagram announcement.
The five-slide message looks back on the people who filled the restaurant, from birthdays and anniversaries to everyday dinners.
Lan thanked customers for returning, bringing friends and family, and supporting the team over the years.
The announcement describes Richmond as already closed, without specifying its last service date or explaining the reason.
A Noms Mag community member did spot the Richmond outpost up for sale earlier this summer.
Owner and chef, Lan Do, moved toward restaurant work after a corporate career.
She had no previous restaurant or culinary experience when she began researching the business.
So she travelled to Ho Chi Minh City to learn from the top chefs, then spent about five years developing the restaurant’s hand-rolled bánh mì bread.
The concept of Banh Mi Tres Bon was meant to be homestyle Vietnamese cooking with French influences, including the bread she remembered eating in Vietnam.
Banh mì wasn’t only part of the Richmond menu.
The menu also featured bánh khọt, the savoury mini crepes, and phở tái bò viên, a beef noodle soup.
The phở broth simmered for 12 to 15 hours daily, drawing flavour from bones, spices, onions and shallots.
That approach came from her parents: build flavour from the ingredients themselves, and serve customers the kind of food she would feed her own family.
But Banh Mi Tres Bon was more than just a restaurant.
Lan regularly welcomed people with no experience if they wanted to work and learn, putting character, integrity and work ethic ahead of a resume.
Having benefited from good mentors herself, she saw training young staff as a way to give that first chance back.
Banh Mi Tres Bon joins the list of recently closed food spots in Richmond like Mikann, Binggo, and Pot O Yogurt.
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Address: 1840-4720 McClelland Road, Richmond, BC
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