Community shows support for struggling Kinhdo restaurant

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Dathao Phan grew up in the kitchen of her family's restaurant.

Now she's optimistic they'll be able to continue serving up a taste of Vietnam and China for the foreseeable future.

"There's happiness. There's joy. I think I've had all the emotions," Phan told FOX 9. "I think I haven't processed it all because I'm just overwhelmed with all the support and all the kindness we've experienced throughout the few days."

Dathao Phan grew up in the kitchen of her family's restaurant, and now she's optimistic they'll be able to continue serving up a taste of Vietnam and China for the foreseeable future.

The Kinhdo Restaurant Phan and her husband inherited from her parents in 2015 has been struggling for the past couple of years because of the pandemic as well as crime and civil unrest.

Phan said they hadn't been able to pay the rent since January and were considering closing their doors for good.

"I just didn't think Uptown wanted us anymore. I wasn't sure if people wanted Kinhdo to be in this neighborhood or be in this community," said Phan.

But after their son started a Gofundme to keep the restaurant going, it has reached and exceeded its goal of $25,000 dollars.

What's more, Phan says the restaurant was so busy over the weekend, they had to turn customers away. 

"Even on our best day pre-pandemic, we didn't make what we made this weekend. We ran out of food. On Sunday, we literally ran out of food." said Phan. "It was so emotional. I would cry at every single comment."

Kinhdo Restaurant in Uptown.

"It feels really good to know the community has our back on this and I've even had some people personally message me and it feels good to have that satisfaction that I've done something good for my family," said Phan's son Jonathan Rowe.

Phan says the donations will allow them to pay their back rent and cover their expenses through March.

More importantly, the community support has restored her family's faith in the those that surround them.

"In general, people want to help others out. People want you to succeed and once you succeed, they are happy you are successful. And I think that is what is keeping us going," said Phan.