Tech Square Loses a Pho Restaurant, but Gains a Vietnamese Coffee Shop and Bubble Tea Bar

The Midtown location of Vietvana Pho Noodle House closed on Spring Street earlier this month ahead of its rebrand to a Vietnamese coffee house and boba bar. But don’t worry, pho and bánh mì are still on the menu.

On November 18, the Vietnamese restaurant will reopen as Vietvana Coffee House, a Vietnamese-style cafe owners Dinh Tran and Khanh Dang plan to franchise throughout Atlanta and the South, starting with the debut in Midtown.

Dang says the idea behind the coffee house took root at Vietvana’s stall at Ponce City Market. She and Tran wanted to simplify the menu further, keeping some popular pho bowls and bánh mì, but adding pastries in Midtown. The shop will emphasize quick service meals and grab-and-go baked goods, bubble tea, and Vietnamese coffee, catering to the busy lifestyles of nearby students from Georgia Tech and area office workers. Vietvana Coffee House will offer coffee using beans from Canton-based roaster Alma Coffee and Vietnamese coffee brand Trung Nguyen.

Vietvana Coffee House

Midtown marks the first franchise for Dang and Tran operated by Tuan “Justin” Le and Nam Nguyen. Le and Nguyen first met while working together at Vietnamese restaurant institution Lee’s Bakery on Buford Highway, and have since gone on to work and invest in other restaurants around Atlanta.

“We think this new concept will be popular with people at Georgia Tech, Tech Square and nearby Midtown workers and residents,” Nguyen says. “And the cafe style reflects how we eat in Vietnam.”

While the indoor seating remains intact, the restaurant is currently undergoing a quick redesign to add move shelving and coolers for the pastries.

Vietvana Pho Noodle House opened in Avondale Estates in the former Our Way Cafe space in 2019. Tran and Dang, both of whom hail from Vietnam, serve food at Vietvana reminiscent of their childhood cities: Hue and Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). The menu features pho, bánh mì, and other dishes like Hue-style beef and pork meatballs, shrimp fritters, papaya salad, and a selection of bún (rice vermicelli noodles) and cơm (rice) plates.

In 2020, Tran and Dang expanded Vietvana to Midtown, followed by a stall in the central food hall at Ponce City Market late last year.