A Santa Rosa couple’s restaurant, still struggling to recover from the pandemic, has gotten a much-needed boost thanks to a heart-wrenching post on TikTok.
A video showing the owner of Lee's Noodle House waiting for customers to walk through the door was posted by his daughter and ever since the TikTok post made the rounds on social media, business has taken off in a way it hasn't in years.
“I just saw that moment, how sad and stressed my dad was,” Jennifer Le told NBC Bay Area. The 21-year-old college student said she was desperate to help.
“It’s very sad for me to see that he can’t get enough customers in,” Jennifer said. “Some days my parents would be waiting for a single customer to walk in.”
Their 20-year-old family business had survived fires, but recovering from the pandemic felt insurmountable -- until now.
To Jennifer's surprise, the video has garnered more than a million views and counting, and customers started pouring in.
“My daughter did something I never expected would happen,” said owner Voung Le. “I didn’t expect this. It’s unbelievable.”
Local
Vuong said it’s like a miracle. His wife is now cooking up a storm in the kitchen again. His 17-year-old daughter and their family friends are pitching in to keep up with the sudden rush.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
“Without all the people coming and supporting us. I don’t know how we were going to make it. I’m really happy and thankful for the people in this town, in this community to come and help my family. I’m thankful,” Vuong said.
Kate McDougall and her husband are among those who were moved by the video.
“It just touched my heart,” she said. “It just really touched me, so we came and we’re going to support this, I love noodles and I love Vietnamese food so it was really, really sweet.”
Regulars are returning and new customers are visiting too. Some trying Vietnamese food for the first time.
“I want to support local businesses and local people here who are trying to make it,” said customer Camille Hoffman.
“It's fresh, it’s homey, it's cozy. It’s like being at your mom’s house and having your mom cook it for you,” said customer Stacy Lindsey.
The Les couldn’t be more thankful.
“My goal is just to work for my kids to support them and get them through college,” Vuong said. “I’m happy.”
“I think this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I am especially very happy for my parents, because I feel they deserve it. That’s all I ever wanted for them -- to be happy, stress-free, and be able to share their food,” Jennifer said.
