Mai's Vietnamese Restaurant to Reopen in April

HOUSTON, TX, April 14, 2011 (Press-News.org) Mai's Restaurant, a landmark eatery that was gutted in a two-alarm fire in February 2010, will reopen in April 2011. The family-run restaurant located in Downtown Houston at 3403 Milam Street was destroyed on February 15, 2010 by a wok fire during a private employee breakfast celebrating the Lunar New Year. Originally opened in 1978, it was Houston's first Vietnamese restaurant.

"I'll never forget the day of the fire, yet I don't want to remember" says Mai Nguyen, the restaurant's owner and its namesake. "I thought everything was going to be alright. Then one hour later we were asked to move back one block. Two hours later, two blocks. The fire kept spreading - that day was like the last day of my life."

Fast forward 14 months, after detailed renovation and Mai's, like a Phoenix rising from its ashes, will re-open with a new look, a new menu and a new management team, a confident re-birth. "The words of support we received during that time were encouraging," says Nguyen's daughter Anna Pham, the restaurant's new general manager and the third generation to operate the family business that was initially opened by Mai's parents. "We dusted off our shoulders and went to work doing what needed to be done."

Built by Dang La Architecture with Richland Construction and designed by Studio Red, the same firm that rebuilt Brennan's of Houston after their devastating fire one year earlier, the new Mai's features a contemporary dining room in soft shades of bamboo green, brown and yellow. Accents include stone, bamboo, mosaic tile and warm wood tones in the millwork (a tribute to Mai's carpenter father). The restaurant also features the Mai flower in its entry, a beautiful Vietnamese flower with golden petals that blossom year round. The former Mai's was equipped with a cashier's stand at the front door and reflected the simple workings of many family-owned restaurants. Today that space is reserved for a hostess stand, another sign of Mai's new era.

Upstairs, the restaurant's second story will be open to the public for the first time in the restaurant's history, effectively doubling the occupancy space to 211. (Formerly Mai's second story was used for storage.) The second story will accommodate late night overflow during Mai's peak business times, as well as allow the clientele additional space for private meetings and banquets, seating up to 65 for private dining or up to 100 for cocktails and small bites. It will have a full run of AV/HD capabilities.

A popular late night dining source in Houston for the past 33 years, Mai's crowd typically triples once the sun goes down. In response, the midtown eatery has taken advantage of its rebirth and added a sparkling new commercial-sized kitchen, a fully-stocked bar (the restaurant previously served wine and beer only), happy hour from 4-7 (the first Vietnamese restaurant in Houston to boast a happy hour), free wi-fi. To accommodate larger crowds Mai's more than tripled its parking spaces (100 plus parking spaces will be available to patrons) and doubled its number of wait staff.

The menu has also been streamlined to represent a more authentic lineup of true Vietnamese fare. Tried and true favorites like salt and pepper tofu, garlic beef and spring rolls will remain, along with the addition of new items including Vietnamese fish tacos (rice paper "taco" with cucumbers, romaine lettuce, fish sauce, pickled carrots, pressed vermicelli, grilled fish, topped with chopped peanuts, fried onions and thinly sliced green onions) and a new dessert lineup laden with treats like coconut cheesecake, fried bananas foster and flan prepared with Mai's award-winning Vietnamese iced coffee. "We want people to have a great Vietnamese experience," says Pham. "We're willing to push the envelope so our diners leave here truly satisfied from beginning to end."

Mai's will kick off its grand reopening festivities April 16 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10:30 am, followed by Lion Dance performances at 11 am and 7 pm. "The lion dance chases away evil spirits, opening the door for all good things: health, wealth, happiness and prosperity," explains Pham. Throughout the day diners will enjoy a 33% discount (signifying 33 years in business), beverage specials, prize giveaways and more. In gratitude to the Houston firefighters who came to Mai's rescue, all firefighters will eat free. (Additionally the restaurant will host a complimentary dinner for those firefighter units that were on call when the fire broke out.) For more information, visit http://www.maishouston.com or follow Mai's rebuild progress on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/maishouston or twitter at http://www.twitter.com/maishouston.