By Kevin Coughlin
Opening a restaurant can be a scary venture in the best of times. But it would take much more than that to scare the owners of the new Monster Sushi in Morristown.
On Le fled Vietnam after the war, surviving a harrowing boat journey and an odyssey of refugee camps.
His mother and two cousins were not so lucky; their boat sank and they were lost.
Yet they had to take the risk.
After the fall of Saigon, “there was no food, no clothing, no freedom, no nothing,” Le recounted before Monday’s ceremonial grand opening at 5 Pine St.
The first thing visitors may notice about Monster Sushi is an outdoor mural of de-fanged fish, swimming in vibrant, reflective yellows and blues.
Created by Morristown artist Ron Ritzie, with some help from kids from the Morristown Neighborhood House, Da Pond is meant to spread happiness — Le’s goal in business, and in life.
“One time we came to eat here” Le said of Morristown, “and everybody looked so happy. I think, ‘I like a happy town. I will try to make people more happy.'”
Assisting him is his wife, Nhu Bui-Le, who escaped war-torn Vietnam as a child.
On Le opened the first Monster Sushi in Manhattan in 1997. With only a 3rd-grade education and limited grasp of English, he has thrived by combining hard work, perseverance and luck. It’s a classic immigrant success story.
‘WE SOLD EVERYTHING’
Born in Vietnam to parents of Japanese and Chinese ancestry, On Le was 17 when he wedged onto a fishing boat with 31 other people for the two-day voyage to Malaysia. His brother and a cousin also survived.
“We sold everything” to pay for the $2,000 passage, On Le said.
Six months in a United Nations refugee camp led to another six months in the Philippines, where he studied English.
On Le made it to the United States in 1982. On his second day in New York, he said, he landed a job as a dishwasher in a Japanese restaurant.
He figured he would have no trouble finding his way back to the place; he simply would look for the one-way street and retrace his steps.
The next day he experienced one of those New York Moments.
“Oh my God, everywhere is one-way!” he discovered, to his dismay.
But the city’s diversity proved comforting. “Everybody is there,” On Le said.
He sent money back to Vietnam for the rest of his family to join him. The voyage ended in tragedy.
‘BRING A BAG OF MONEY’
On Le worked for a Japanese couple who offered him two choices: Waiter, or cook.
Waiters, they explained, make more money at first.”But nobody wants an old waiter,” they cautioned. Cooks have a better future; age doesn’t matter.
Choosing the latter course, On Le learned to make sushi from five cooks, a veritable melting pot in the kitchen. “I made their experience my own,” he said.
On Le spent five years working for the Japanese couple. A customer took a shine to him, and suggested they open their own Japanese restaurant.
“If you bring a bag of money, I will be your partner,” On Le joked.
The customer returned with a bag of money. They would open four restaurants together, including one in Summit.
For two days, the New York restaurant was named Godzilla. Trademark lawyers breathed fire on that idea, On Le said.
His wife, who he met at a wedding in this country, also knows plenty about perseverance.
Nhu Bui-Le spoke no English when she emigrated to Paterson at age 7.
Her father, a South Vietnamese soldier, had died in the war. Her mother, who did cleaning chores for the U.S. Army, married a young American soldier of Polish descent in 1975.
New Jersey was a tough adjustment for Nhu Bui-Le and her four sisters. Everything was different, from pop culture to food.
“Kids were bullies,” she said.
The couple, who have two children, have been back to Vietnam a few times. It’s a nice place to visit, they said. But they feel pretty happy to be in Morristown.
And they’re determined to spread that sentiment, one tuna roll at a time.
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