South End Life: A Vietnamese American Cookie Shop Provides a Sweet Offering in Historic CID Building

Vince Vu leans over butcher paper on the floor of the historic Osami's Barbershop in Japantown, laying out letters for an announcement he'll tape in the front window. Anh Ơi Bake Shop will open at 314 6th Ave. S. on May 15. Vu, the shop's owner, sells "unapologetically" Vietnamese American" cookies.

Vu's large, chewy cookies — with flavors like fried banana, strawberry-corn milk, Vietnamese coffee with white chocolate, and coconut-mung bean — contain a story. He says that cookies, an American dessert, infused with flavors that represent Vietnamese and Southeast Asian cultures symbolize the experience of a third-culture kid. "We're not Vietnamese, we're not American, we're another [third] experience that's a melding and a departure from each of the two cultural identities they come from," said Vu. "I'm trying to tell the story that so many other people like me are trying to tell: what it means to be someone who's fluent in English and struggles to speak with our grandparents who don't speak English, what it means to be non-white in the U.S."

The shop will also feature small baker's goods from other locals. Vu says he wants people to find rare and unique baked goods by people who sell in small batches or don't sell all the time. The shop can also be an incubator for bakers who want to try breaking into the business.

Anh Ơi Bake Shop got a little help moving in from Seattle Restored. The program assists with things like a startup lease, insurance, and technical and marketing assistance to shops intending to locate in neighborhoods like downtown, Pioneer Square, and the Chinatown-International District (CID). Seattle Restored Program Director Andrea Porter announced two more venues for pop-ups are targeted to open in the CID in July.

An inaugural featured business at Anh Ơi Bake Shop will be Akio's Bakery, which specializes in cream puffs, buns, and shokupan (Japanese milk bread). Akio's is run by Jhomarie (Jho) Sadang, who caught the baking bug in middle school in Renton and started posting her work on social media. That led to some orders. In 2019, Boon Boona Coffee reached out to her for a pop-up event and Sadang's business grew. During the pandemic, Sadang took preorders. Now, Akio's Bakery creations are sold at Uwajimaya, Maruta Shoten in Georgetown, and Koto Jelly.

Akio's will be serving up shokupan toast with butter; buns in red bean, white bean, and matcha varieties; and an Anh Ơi Bake Shop exclusive: Maja Blanca Blondie, inspired by the Filipino dessert of coconut pudding with corn.

Sadang says she spent a lot of time in the CID growing up. "It's crazy to be in a space like [Osami's] in the community," said Sadang, who used to be a baker and sous chef at Hood Famous. "Being a part of the CID again with Vince is very special to me."

Osami's Barbershop, which occupied the space the bakeshop will soon fill, carried historical resonance. Osami and Kinue Namba opened the shop in 1948 and ran it for 67 years. The space continued to host haircuts through Pioneer Barber Shop until recently. Vu said, "I think the space remembers how to be a barber shop. The lights are where the chairs were. There's a laundry room. I'm still finding things on the walls, behind random shelves. … I found a box of really old combs."

Curtis Luke, who grew up in the neighborhood and whose sister was a hairdresser at Kiki's Salon, which was next door to Osami's, wrote in a text to the Emerald that he frequented the barbershop from the 1960s to the early 2000s. He sometimes waited over an hour for a haircut because they were busy. "One of my fondest memories was how they would finish the back and sideburns with shaving cream and a straightedge razor. And then apply a hot towel to clean up," said Luke.

Vu says he's had visits from elders in the community walking by who are interested in the space and the new business. The cookie shop will offer a coffee cart, but Vu says he'll advocate for tea, too.

Vu's parents, who were refugees from Vietnam, were entrepreneurial. Over the years, they opened a few restaurants, a nail salon, a bridal supply store, and a photography studio. "The difference is they started businesses to survive," said Vu. "In contrast, I have the privilege to have this bakeshop."

Anh Ơi Bake Shop will have a soft opening is May 15. The bakeshop's grand opening is May 23 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event will feature a ribbon cutting, lion dancers, a meet-the-bakers event, a makers market, and a meal.

Shop Hours
Wednesday and Thursday, 9 a.m.–3 p.m.
Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m.–4 p.m.
Sunday, 9 a.m.–3 p.m.

Got an idea for a South End story you'd like to see us cover? Let me know: Yuko.Kodama@SeattleEmerald.org.