With 52 beers on tap, and a reported $2 Million in revenue last year, it’s no surprise Mekong is expanding and its owner, An Bui, is all smiles.
With 52 beers on tap, and a reported $2 Million in revenue last year, it’s no surprise Mekong is expanding and its owner, An Bui, is all smiles.
Local business-news allstars Richmond Bizsense got a chance to sit down with Bui and discuss some of the exciting new plans the Vietnamese beer super-star has in store – including a new expanded location, and growth into the Fan after the purchase of the Commercial Tap House from owner James Talley.
Here’s some highlights from the interview, but please head on over to Richmond Bizsense for the entire Q&A:
RBS: Do you think there’s a point when the local brewery industry will plateau?
AB: No. Beer is part of the culture. The history goes way back to when they were building the pyramids. I don’t think it will plateau. The history is there. It’s part of us.
People say we’re at the peak or we’re about to have the brewery bust. We’re still in the boom. The beer style and quality will get better. With the competition, with more choice, it can only get better for the consumer.
Mekong has an extensive Vietnamese menu in addition to its large beer selection.
RBS: Do you worry about setting up a brewpub right next to your restaurant and competing with yourself?
AB: People ask me that every day. My explanation to them is that it will not hurt Mekong, but it will help in the long run. (The brewpub) was set as a destination. It’s a good tourist spot for us. When people come visit the brewpub, they will come and visit Mekong. We’re trying to set these two buildings as the beer Mecca.
It’s really different from Mekong. Here we’re brewing beer, we’ll have growlers to go, so people come here and do a growler to go and get take out at Mekong. To us it’s the same company but different departments.
