John Dang got into the restaurant business at an absurdly young age – 19.
Born in Bien Hoa, a suburb of Saigon, Dang and his family emigrated to the United States in 1995 and settled in Charlotte.
He began washing dishes in a Charlotte restaurant at 16. A few years later, realizing he was good at greeting people and his older brother, Doi, was a good cook, he decided to take over a struggling restaurant a friend owned on Sharon Amity Road. He’s still there.
“I’ve traveled a lot of places, but I’d rather be in Charlotte than the other cities I’ve been to,” Dang said. “I’ve spent my life here, so I really don’t want to start over. It’s very comfortable to stay in Charlotte.”
A massive shakeup in difficult times for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Would your children be affected?
A coalition of Charlotte civil rights and labor groups unites for a kind of riposte to the Tea Party movement--the One Nation March in Washington on Oct. 2 to demand fair wages, affordable education and justice in the courts.
C.N. Jenkins Memorial Presbyterian Church held its annual College Sunday, attended by visited by members of Johnson C. Smith University’s football and volleyball teams and UNC Charlotte’s gospel choir, Voices of Eden. They heard a powerful message about the importance of living productive lives.
An interesting discussion from WFAE's Charlotte Talks about the phenomenon of free clinics for people who can’t afford health care--a growing trend nationwide and in Charlotte.
Are social media eroding the power of social activism? Author Malcolm Gladwell thinks so; the Observer’s Eric Frazier thinks not so much. You?
Soul food, comfort food, down-home cooking; however you describe it, Sadie’s Soulful Southern Experience is one of the best. And we’re not just talking about the restaurant’s position in Charlotte; Sadie’s is highly regarded nationwide.
There remain many local people who don’t know what they’re missing. Located in East Charlotte, Sadie’s doesn’t have a prime location like Mert’s Heart and Soul (Uptown) or Price’s Chicken Coop (South End), but it’s worth the drive. Just ask the regulars.
In case you’re wondering, “El Pulgarcito de América” means, literally, “the little finger of America.”
It’s a sobriquet for the nation of El Salvador, the smallest in Central America. It’s also the name of a restaurant on Central Avenue in the Eastway neighborhood of East Charlotte, home to a growing number of Latinos and Latino-owned businesses.
Josua Saravia moved here seven years ago from the Salvadoran city of La Unión, joining family members who had already moved to Charlotte, and now manages the restaurant.
El Pulgarcito is owned and operated by Salvadorans but offers Salvadoran, Honduran and Mexican dishes. The differences can be subtle, but Saravia, through a translator, said it’s good for El Pulgarcito to offer different dishes and let patrons – many of them Mexican, Honduran and Salvadoran themselves – decide what they want. He said he’s been pleasantly surprised and happy to find such a thriving Latino community in Charlotte.
Crossroads Charlotte presents four stories based on real data about Charlotte's future and asks the community to Imagine Our Tomorrow and respond to the stories.
Crossroads Charlotte offers numerous ways for citizens to get involved in our community and help shape Charlotte's future. Act Today and make a difference.
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Posted: September 29th, 2010 Greg Lacour
