“Hi, I’m Tim and I’m a happy guy.” That’s how he preferred to introduce himself when we filmed our Best of Saigon video at Every Half. To be honest, at first I was like, “It’s alright, you can just say your name.” But no, he insisted — and it wasn’t long before I realized I loved what he said and I appreciated how sincere he was in saying it. Why? It takes courage to be happy. Being happy means different things for different people. Being happy might mean starting your own company. Being happy might mean making money, traveling, and living it up. Being happy also might mean giving it up — the money, the trips, the parties — to answer the call for something greater. Something unknown. Something out of your depth. Something that might actually make you happy. Tim is the type of person to do that and that’s why he says, smiling with confidence, “Hi, I’m Tim and I’m a happy guy.”
During and after completing his business degree at Nguyễn Tất Thành University, Tim started in fashion. At first, it was just one store. Then one became two, two became three, and soon he was doing pretty well for himself. He was in his late teens, early twenties then doing what many people want to be doing then — living it up. Catching flights with friends. Popping bottles in the club. Making money. All was well except one problem: he wasn’t happy. He felt lonely. He felt disconnected. He felt there was a lack of depth in his work. Then Covid hit, work slowed down, and eventually he felt he was back at zero. However, being back at zero really means being back at square one and square one is the perfect place to begin a new adventure.
Although his fashion businesses slowed down as a result of the pandemic, it also resulted in something else – pivoting to working in marketing. He worked in marketing for roughly two years learning as many tricks of the trade as he could. Still, even then, he was not really happy. It wasn’t until 2023 when things started to change, internally and externally. He opened his first official restaurant, Amano Pizza. Amano means “handmade” in Italian.
He admitted that he didn't know much about pizza at first. But he teamed up with his friend and head chef, Phúc Võ , who studied in Australia and had previously lived in Bali before returning to Vietnam, as well as another friend and investor, Trey, who moved back to Vietnam from Canada. Tim tells me they all go way back before starting Amano together. Two months in, thanks to good food and strong marketing, they gained considerable attention. Six months in, thanks to turning that attention into consistent foot traffic, they were able to open a second location. One is near Saigon Central Park and the other is behind Bến Thành Market.
Opening up Amano is also when he came in closer contact with Đức, head chef at Adau Kitchen. The two restaurants did a pop up event together. Tim tells me after observing Đức, seeing him interact with guests, being surrounded by good food, all of it solidified the power of bringing people together and the happiness of being part of that experience. Tim gives Đức a lot of credit for teaching him about food as well as crafting together a nice dining experience for guests. Case in point, Tim asked Đức to join us for our chat which he added the tiramisu at Amano is the best!
Beyond Amano, Tim says he still spends a good amount of time advising other people on their business brands. In addition to his own experiences, he also gives credit to learning a lot from his mom who owned a restaurant for over 25 years plus his dad who built his career in the real estate sector. As a result, Tim loves to use his experiences, his knowledge, his curiosity to conduct experiments. The latest? Marquee Dining.
Marquee Dining advertises itself as a world where culinary excellence meets cinematic enchantment. Food wise, it is excellent. When I went with my girlfriend we indulged in their a la carte menu featuring kung fu tofu, gà động viên, and thịt kho tiêu. Ambiance wise, it is enchanting. There’s a huge painting of people lining up all over town for a showing of Wes Anderson’s French Dispatch. There are also classic movie posters all over — Jaws, Pee Wee, Toy Story, Lion King, and one of my personal favorites, Inglourious Basterds. Plus one of the best details of the whole place, Marquee Dining puts the names of their guests on the theater marquee sign downstairs, signifying that the people who visit are the stars of the show.
Cinematically, I was further enchanted by the movie we saw: Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance). I happen to talk to Tim not long after watching Birdman at Marquee and in an unexpected way I think there is a connection between the two stories. Both Birdman and Tim have a deep love for movies (you can watch movies at Marquee and Amano) but symbolically it seems the connection runs deeper. In the story of Birdman, an actor who walked away from the fame of playing a superhero, aims to rewrite the script of his career and his life. He wants nothing more than to create something meaningful, something that has depth, something to feel connected with others and himself. And he goes to great lengths to do so.
In the story of Tim, a business man who walked away from the success of the fashion industry, he’s spent the last couple years also aiming to rewrite the script of his career and his life. He wants similar things to Birdman — meaning, depth, connection, happiness. And he too has gone to great lengths to make that happen. Shutting down his old business. Opening up new businesses. Taking risks creatively. Taking risks financially. Taking risks emotionally. Trusting friends. Trusting strangers. Trusting himself. Listening for the different calls to adventures, the different calls to experiment, the different calls to learn, grow, and build something real by hand. I feel both stories are powerful messages about the courage to walk away from what no longer feels true to you and venture forth into the unknown, uncertain of what you’ll find. Or better said using Joseph Campbell’s beautiful words, “Follow your bliss, and the universe will open doors where there were only walls.”
Going forward, Tim has no plans of curbing his curiosity, but only of sharing his knowledge. He plans to open doors to more businesses and bring even more people together. He also plans to start a consulting company near the end of the year. His vision is to help the younger generation of business owners by leading them in a positive direction sharing the expertise he’s gained over the years. Who knows, they may even learn to follow their bliss too and have the courage to be happy, just like Tim.
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