Oh Mai

Address: 3425 South State Street

Telephone: 801-575-8888

Website: ohmaisandwichkitchen.com

District: South Salt Lake

 

“I have been doing this since I was eighteen. I am sixty now. We just keep going because we love it, and because this is our fate.” Anna Tran, owner of Oh Mai, never set out to become a restaurateur, but food has always been central to her family’s story.

Born in Vietnam, Anna fled with her family during the fall of Saigon in 1975. They were sponsored by a Catholic church in Erie, Pennsylvania, which helped them adjust to life in America. “The church didn’t try to convert us,” Anna recalled. “They just wanted to help. They gave us housing and put us in private school for a year. After that, we were on our own.”

Following a brief but snowy stay in Pennsylvania, the family relocated to Garden Grove, California. “My parents wanted somewhere warmer,” she said with a smile. “In Erie, the snow reached past our heads.” But as gang activity rose in the Garden Grove, Anna’s father, a strict and protective man, moved the family once again - this time to Utah, where he had received a job promotion in electronics.

With five siblings to support and only one parent working, Anna stepped in. She worked two jobs after high school and eventually gave up college so that her younger siblings could attend instead. Her mother, determined to improve their circumstances, opened Café Trang in 1987. “We all worked in the restaurant,” Anna said. “My mom and I cooked, my sisters were hostesses and servers, my brothers washed dishes, and my dad bought the groceries. We worked without pay so we could keep things going.”

Café Trang eventually grew to five locations, all family-run. “We opened them quickly - within about four years,” she said. During this time, Anna's brother introduced her to her husband, Long, who also came here from Vietnam at the age of fourteen. "They played soccer together. We started dating while he was studying engineering in college, but he quit, married me, and joined our family business." As Anna's parents aged and full-service restaurants became harder to maintain, Anna and Long decided to pivot. They sold the restaurants and in 2012, they opened Oh Mai, a small Vietnamese sandwich shop on South State Street, using recipes passed down from Anna’s mother. The name, “Oh Mai,” is both a play on words and a tribute to her mother’s first name. "My parents retired, but for as long as they could, they took care of my children. It was all done with so much love."

Anna and Long never expected the sandwich shop to become a hit. “We just wanted something manageable." But in 2015, Food Network’s Guy Fieri featured Oh Mai, and everything changed. The couple began receiving franchise requests. Today, there are seven Oh Mai locations, including three franchises in Draper, West Valley, and South Jordan. Anna and Long still directly operate the original on South State Street as well as locations in Holladay, downtown Salt Lake, and the recently opened “Oh Mai - Out the Door” in Millcreek, which focuses on take-out, homemade sauces, pickles, and an expanded selection of salads and pastries. That last offering is thanks to Anna’s daughter, Audrey Tran, who helped create a mini drink and dessert shop inside the Millcreek location. “She’s a nurse, but she didn’t love it,” Anna said. “Now she’s with us, doing something she enjoys.”

Even through the challenges of inflation, COVID, and neighborhood issues near their downtown location, Anna and Long continue to run the business with integrity. “We don’t up charge for things like eggs. We want our customers to enjoy good food at a fair price,” she said. “Sometimes we work without pay but it’s worth it.”

Anna takes pride in serving Vietnamese food that is fresh, flavorful, and healthy. “No MSG. A lot of people don’t think about that until they get older or get sick,” she said. “But we believe in food that’s good for your body and your brain.” Looking back, she credits their success not just to hard work but to faith, family, and community. “Without our loyal customers, we would not be here. We do this for them - and because it is meant to be. We’re going to keep doing this until we die.”