" Immigrated to United States with family after fall of Saigon"
Yen Kim Le, owner of Yen Restaurant, at 763 Holcombe Ave., died Sunday at Springhill Medical Center after a brief illness.
His 67-year life was truly an American success story.
Le, wife Bach Tuyet Thai Pham and their four children immigrated to the United States after the fall of Saigon in 1975.
He made his home in Mobile through the aid of Catholic Social Services and took whatever work he could get, including a stint at McDonald's, where he worked the grill during the day and went to appliance repair school at night.
He worked for Montgomery Ward for 16 years in the appliance repair department and saved enough money to send all four of his children to the University of South Alabama.
"He made the sacrifices necessary to send us all to college," said his son, Hai Kim Le of Mobile. In 1996, Yen Kim Le decided to open a restaurant featuring the cuisine of his native Vietnam. It wasn't the first such restaurant in Mobile, but at the time of his father's death it was the city's only one, his son said.
Yen Kim Le knew nothing about running a restaurant, so he and his wife flew back to Vietnam where they took cooking lessons and purchased kitchen supplies. The plan was for his wife to run the kitchen, and he would run the front of the house.
When it came time to open in late 1996, the couple didn't have to look far to figure out where to locate. "We lived in Morningside, and dad didn't want to be far from home," his son said.
It was hard at first, he said, and often the family would try to talk the elder Le into selling out. But he wouldn't hear of it and worked even harder. "He never wanted to give up," his son said.
Today the restaurant features an extensive menu of authentic Vietnamese dishes and a good base of steady customers. The Le family plans to continue to operate the business; normal business hours should resume next Tuesday, Hai Kim Le said.
"If I could remember anything about my father it's his unselfishness. He never took anything from his kids and vowed that he would never be a burden," he said.
In addition to his wife and son, Yen Kim Le is survived by two more sons, Son Kim Le and Lam Kim Le; one daughter, Tuyen Le Collins; and a number of grandchildren.
Visitation will be today from noon to 8 p.m. at Serenity Funeral Home on Old Pascagoula Road, where the funeral services will take place at 10 a.m. Friday. Burial will take place in Serenity Memorial Gardens.
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