Jonathan Lam ( right ) and Cynthia Aung-Lam opened Pegasus Bakery & Cafe in Little Saigon in 2016 . The couple launched their business out of a belief that small businesses inject variety and choice into the local economy .
Down the street , Black , white and brown customers stop by Huong Lan , coolly familiar with its many Vietnamese dishes , but the restaurant is also changing palates . Pham laughs as she recalls a diner who grimaced at hearing about headcheese , a meat jelly made from various parts of a pig , but tried it anyway .
Variety comes from family businesses like these . But across the U . S ., after decades of corporate mergers and expansion , it has become less and less likely that such small ventures will survive . To take one indicator , the Kauffman Foundation calculates what percent of new businesses actually hire staff within two years of forming . In California , that number has declined nearly every year since 2005 , to 15.6 percent in 2018 , according to the foundation ’ s “ 2018 New Employer Business Report .”
These businesses are vital to the continued development of Little Saigon , Guerra says , especially if the Capital
Region is going to tackle broader problems such as sprawl , pollution and homelessness .
They are a reminder too , that Sacramento ’ s is a history of newcomers , he says , which has been the case for the better part of two centuries . After the Maidu and Miwok people , white and Chinese settlers came to the valley in the gold rush , followed by arrivals linked to the end of slavery , the Dust Bowl , the multiple waves from Latin America and the Vietnam War . They came for mobility of all kinds — geographic , social and economic .
“ It provides a sense of home ,” Guerra says of the district . “ All of these businesses that are on the boulevard bring that sense of welcomeness .” He aims to make Little Saigon a better-known destination , a vital stop on the itinerary of travelers to the California capital .
It is a continuation of work that denizens have been doing for years , according to Hoang , who also works with his siblings at Tido Financial , the financial advisory business he founded .
People used to drive out of downtown Sacramento on Highway 99 and pass by “ a place no one wanted to pay attention to ,” he says . Today , the neighborhood still has to contend with blight , depressed property values , crime and underserved populations . But families also have brought restaurants , festivals and temples to the working-class ZIP code . In a time of pandemic , they donated food and masks to those with less . In more salutary times , they held networking mixers and free classes in tai chi or computer literacy .
“ We worked hard ,” Hoang says of the evolution over the years . “ We changed this from a place that was undesired to now , a place where people look forward to coming .”
Lien Hoang is a Sacramento native and journalist who has worked for Nikkei , Bloomberg , The New York Times , Al Jazeera and The Sacramento Bee . Contact her at twitter . com / lienh .
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