GLADSTONE, Mo. — First-generation Vietnamese immigrant, Nhung Hoang, recently opened Origin Coi Won Coffeehouse in Gladstone to create a space she needed as a young girl.
Hoang moved to America with her family when she was an 8-year-old girl. She says despite a large population of Vietnamese Americans in the Kansas City area, she often felt like their presence was being erased.
“For a community who, you know, is not loud, who is not known very well, when you don’t have places to be yourself, the only place you can be yourself is at home,” said Hoang. “I wanted a place to belong, and then I wanted a place to respect the heritage that I came from.”
Every cup brewed at Origin Coi Won Coffeehouse pays homage to her family roots. It is her way of respecting her heritage, as coffee is not just an industry she works in, but also one she grew up in.
As a little girl in Vietnam, Hoang used to play on her family’s coffee farm. For her, it is sacred ground where her ancestors passed down decades of tradition and knowledge.
“When I go back home and I go to my family farm, I’m like, my ancestors worked on these lands. You know, like this is crazy to think about,” said Hoang.
Hoang says the life of a coffee bean from harvest to brew is arduous. But it must endure that process to become the very thing that people love so much.
Understanding coffee has helped her process the pains of her family’s immigration in her adult years.
“Learning a new language, integrating into a new culture… it was definitely not the easiest thing,” said Hoang. “If you’re the only kid in class that doesn’t understand what’s going on around you, there’s definitely a sense of isolation that comes from that. But nonetheless, I’m grateful for the experience.”
Because that experience ultimately led her to Origin Coi Won. Her own place that also honors her late brother, Timothy. He has been through it all with her since childhood and also encouraged her to quit her degree in Computer Science to pursue her passion for coffee.
“The more businesses that Viets open for our own community, the more we get to almost speak our presence into Kansas City. Not in a loud way, but in the way that we have always done it,” said Hoang. “We really just want to be there for them. We want to make a place for them. Rally, deliver on the promise that we promised them.”
For Vietnamese customer Caroline Ly, it is a step in the right direction.
“Now versus how it was when I was growing up, it’s grown a lot. And the growth has been really, really touching to see,” said Ly.
Hoang believes diversity does not matter if we do not understand each other. So she hopes her coffeeshop can start conversations and help Vietnamese Americans have a voice at the table.
“Any opportunity for someone to experience new culture, new taste, new flavors, that’s a way for us to connect to each other,” said Hoang.
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