After business school, culinary school and post-grad work as an executive sous chef in Texas, Darren Nguyen opened Pho 69, popular lunch spot on South First Street in San Jose.

With a variety of pho offerings, sandwiches and rice and noodle bowls, the restaurant has emerged as a neighborhood favorite. We met with Nguyen to discuss the meaning behind the restaurant name, the big bowl challenge and his future plans for the restaurant.

Name: Darren Nguyen

Occupation: Owner of Pho 69

How long have you lived and worked in San Jose?
I’ve lived here for about 20 years. Midway, I moved to Texas to do some work for four to five years. We have some investments here, so we came back and opened up Pho 69.

What made you want to open up your own restaurant?
I went to school and changed my major three to four times. At first it was graphic design, but I knew I sucked at it, so I changed it to business management. After that, I went straight to culinary school and I worked in restaurants for a few years.

How did you come up with the name Pho 69?
There’s a lot of noodle shops around here, like Pho Hoa and Pho Bang. It’s hard to remember.

My brother-in-law came up with the name. Everyone thinks it is dirty, but if you add a number to a name, it becomes very easy to remember. People have been offended and said, “It’s such a horrible name!” Sometimes we have to make it up and say, “It’s the date of my birthday.” But now we have regular customers who don’t really care. The tagline “Something hot coming to your mouth” makes it even worse. It’s funny, catchy and provocative at the same time.

What were some challenges you faced when you opened the restaurant?
The restaurant business is really hard. Unless you love it, you don’t do it. There’s a lot of standing. Sometimes the cook doesn’t show up, or you’ll walk in at 6am and find that the power is out.

What’s your favorite dish at Pho 69?
My favorite soup is the filet mignon. It’s meaty and has a lot of flavor. My second favorite dish is the chicken basil. It’s one of the popular dishes—it has a lot of spice in it and the basil makes it sweet. The chicken breast is really tender, too. The produce here is certified, but unfortunately it’s not local, because the price of the dishes is under $10.

What inspired you to create the Big Bowl Challenge?
I made it for fun. It’s something a lot of young people want to do if they have a big appetite. If you finish it, it’s free.

Lately, a lot of people haven’t tried it—they look at the bowl and get freaked out. The bowl holds about five pounds of food. Only one person has finished it so far. A lot of people have attempted it but they failed. You have one hour to finish it, but you have to eat it fast, because once the noodle sucks in the water, it carries a lot of weight and expands.

You don’t have to drink the soup—just eat the noodles and the meat. I wouldn’t advise you to drink water while doing the challenge.

Can we expect to see new items added to the menu?
Yes, you can. I’m working on the new menu; taking old stuff out and adding a few more items, like the soft shell crab. It depends on the season. We’re adding the crispy basil shrimp—it’s an appetizer with shrimp wrapped in basil and deep-fried. We’re trying to upgrade the menu every five months.

What do you like most about San Jose?
I love San Jose. It’s the center of everywhere else; it’s close to San Francisco, Monterey and Napa, but now it’s hard to do business here. It’s crazy. Too much bureaucracy—it took me a year and a half to open up. I had to get a lot of permits.

What’s one thing you would change about San Jose?
For businesses, I think the mayor or a City Council needs to change the policy to make it easy for small businesses in San Jose. I know a lot of small businesses are leaving San Jose. The nightlife in San Jose is different; in Santana Row, everyone spends money. People here in downtown San Jose don’t really spend much. Maybe we have too much stuff here and people take it for granted.

How do you like to spend your time when you’re not working?
Most of the time, I sleep because I don’t get enough sleep. My wife is an engineer in Palo Alto and I wake up early in the morning, drive her over there and come back. Sunday, I usually sleep in. If anyone shows up to the door early, I will probably shoot them. If I do have time, we go to Napa or go to the city and have some dim sum.

What are some of your favorite places in San Jose?
I like The Grill on the Alley for happy hour and burgers. I like Mezcal for drinks and happy hour. I like five-dollar pizzas at the Saint Claire hotel. I’ve tried Umami Burger in Palo Alto but it’s not the same as the original in LA.

What are your plans for Pho 69 in the future?
I’m going to keep this restaurant for a while—maybe another 10 years, or so. I’ve invested so much money in this place that it’s ridiculous. I have to focus on making it better. People are starting to notice it and I think it will do well. Hopefully there will be more jobs here in San Jose so that people will come back.