South End Life: During Ramadan, Salima Specialties Alters Hours, Maintains Community Focus

AM: I'm from Châu Đốc in South Vietnam. It's the largest population of Cham Muslims in Vietnam. The kingdom of Champa spread from central Vietnam to southern Vietnam. Eventually, there was a war, and we migrated southward and spread to Cambodia. Cham ancestors were skilled seafarers who traveled from Polynesia through the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia before arriving in Vietnam [during the second century]. 

In the U.S., Cham people are [generally] spread out, but it's more concentrated in Seattle. Seattle has the largest population of Cham in the country. I would say, probably around 3,000 [people].

AM: Ramadan is very special to us. We take our time to concentrate on our faith and reconnect with the Almighty by praying, cleansing our sins to purify ourselves, live with discipline [including fasting from sunrise to sunset], give to those in need, and gain the rewards of wisdom from Allah to improve ourselves and reset our life. Everyone has their own goal, their own sins, their own way of repentance. 

The five pillars in Islam are: declare the oneness of God, prayer, give charity, fasting, and Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. The goal is to attain the first four. Some go on pilgrimage during Ramadan, but people can perform Hajj anytime during the year. During Ramadan, most Muslims return to their hometown or are involved in their community to participate in faith activities. It takes a lot of preparation too, not just discipline. A lot of people prepare for it by cutting back on food during the day, a week or two before Ramadan, just to get into the routine [of fasting].

AM: Ramadan is very tough for all businesses, but the food business, because it’s about eating [during a month of daytime fasting], requires us to shift and prepare more for it. We know that during the month of Ramadan, the sales will decrease because people cook at home. They want to introduce their own culture and their own grandma's recipes, especially the first week … before they get tired of cooking. We improvise and shift our operation accordingly, so that we can afford this. We shifted our [restaurant] hours to 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Alhamdulillah [praise be to God], our staff is willing to work with us every year. 

We also shift our focus during Ramadan to give more [to charity]. In our family, during the month of Ramadan, we think more about community efforts, so we offer free iftar [the evening meal that breaks the fast] every Friday during Ramadan. We also take 5% of our gross sales, and we give it to a nonprofit charitable organization. This year, we give to CAIR Washington. Last year, we gave to Moonlight Humanity.

AM: COVID was a blessing for my family — maybe because our intention was pure. In 2019, we intended to make Hajj for the first time, then COVID hit. So we used money which was going toward Hajj to open this restaurant.

Three months after the restaurant opened, they opened Hajj again on lottery. There used to be a limit to about two and a half million people who can be in Mecca [at one time]. That year, they limited 50,000 from North America. We still had enough money to perform Hajj, and we gathered friends to try for the lottery. We were selected, so Salima trained the staff at the new restaurant, and we left for pilgrimage. Unfortunately, when we got there, Salima got sick. Usually, you don’t dream during Hajj because you’re so busy with your intention there. Salima dreamed about pho. She had a fever. She was very thirsty for a product. Then, when she woke up, I can attest to this: She felt better.

When we returned, we researched this idea, and there was no halal instant food [available] worldwide.

AM: It involved a lot of headaches and trial and error. We were testing flavors for almost a year to get what we wanted. Our intention was not to go with the traditional route of producing the instant pho, because they use additives, preservatives, and so forth. We wanted to be authentic to the halal concept. Halal concept is basically pure [and] cleanliness. It's not just the meat. It's about purifying your intention. 

We found out about the freeze-drying method to preserve [the ingredients], which has been used in the military and NASA for a long time. We were able to get freeze-drying machines, and we started testing.

Our intention was to build a facility here and hire people here, but we ended up not doing it because the cost is too high. 

So we went to Vietnam, and we opened a 5,000-square-foot facility in the Cham community. We worked with a local company there to make a custom freeze-dry machine for us. It took another year and a half to get that done, and now I have to bring in three more investors to finance money.

AM: Yes, it's 20% added to our costs. We don't mind that, but the problem is that when you have this tariff, it's not just affecting the monetary side of business. It also affects other processes in import/export [logistics]. Vietnam has to create a new law to regulate the tariff process, so this makes it delayed. The new law will come out in April, so we have to wait until then to declare our products.

Then, with this war, there are rising costs for us, because now the route for the ship is altered. It’ll take longer for the shipment to arrive, and it’ll cost us more.