Interview with business Owner tran
Tin Tran
He/Him/His
Ethnicity: Vietnamese American
Occupation: Somi Somi / Sul & Bean Franchise Owner
Location: Cupertino, California
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“As a business owner, we like taking cash because there is no charge with the point of sale (POS). But we have to do what's right [and stop accepting cash payment] to limit contact with our employees and costumers to keep them safe."
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July 25, 2020, 6:30 PM PDT
By Kevin nguyen
Tin Ngo is a Vietnamese American franchisee owner of Somi Somi and Sul & Bean, with locations in Main Street Cupertino and the Valley Fair Mall. Tin was born in Vietnam and move to the United States when he was eight years old. Somi Somi is a Korean dessert spot known for its soft serve and Taiyaki (baked fish-shaped waffle filled with a choice of filling). Sul & Bean is another Korean dessert location that mainly serves Bingsoos (a milk-based shaved ice) made entirely from scratch.
Interview Highlights
Nguyen: What made you want to become a business owner, specifically of Somi-Somi and Sul & Bean?
Tran: We are first we want to open like a tea place, you know. But then when we went down to San Diego, where my family is at, and then we just took the kids to Somi Somi and Sul & Bean cause down there they have the same store, two in one store that we liked it very much. And then. We will look online to see if they were franchising and luckily they were we were like the third or the fourth store that we tried to open one, you know, but and we noticed that up in northern California, there is none.
Nguyen: What is the biggest impact the Coronavirus is having on your stores?
Tran: So you've... worked at Sul. So you know how it was last summer, right? Every night during the summer there were always lines and [it was] always packed. But with this COVID stuff with that. Sul & Bean took a very big hit and it's just slower. I mean, before it was packed every night during the summer. That's just like everywhere else? I mean, can we complain? It's just what I have been saying, we're still fortunate.
Nguyen: What were your immediate struggles when stores were suddenly forced to shut down due to the outbreak?
Tran: Well, once it's shut down like we wasted a lot of [soft serve] mixes, we order for [the next few weeks]. Most of our stuff, we have to dump away a lot of mixes and most of our filling, like red bean and stuff, we still had custard, all that is going to waste, even the puree. So when it shuts down, we actually lost a lot of money. Yeah, but during that time, we felt like we had to, we didn't know what kind of situation we were in, and plus, we don't want to put our staff in danger and also the client.
Nguyen: What changes have you had to make to comply with COVID-19 safety regulations, besides sneeze guards?
Tran: We are [wearing] the masks. There's one also. But we always wore masks. Before it was a guard, now it's like a full mask. We have to stop taking money, we don't take cash anymore because we don't want to be touching. And also Somi Somi. There is no Ah-Boong, no cone style. It's always upside down. So there's a lot of changes. But main thing is the cash. We stopped taking cash.
Nguyen: Why did you decide to stop accepting cash payments?
Tran: As a business owner, we actually like taking cash. First of all, we don't get charged for any usage of the POS because, if we use the POS, they will take a percentage of the charge. But we just have to do what's right, and as far as I see, we see it, less touching mean, just less passing the virus to my staff or my client. So, yeah, that's basically it. I mean sometimes it's kind of hard because, we have to turn down a few sales, but we just have to do what we have to do.