Café Bích Nga (“𝘉𝘪𝘬 𝘕𝘺𝘢”) in Pinellas Park (5572 Park Blvd) has recently become an online sensation, and it’s for a great reason. What was once an internet meme has now become a heartwarming story of humanity restored.
A not-suitable-for-work mispronunciation of the Vietnamese restaurant’s name often drew attention in the past, but a recent video from a local creator, Julian Becerra, has given the community a new reason to visit and talk about Café Bích Nga: to support the owner Becerra lovingly calls Mrs. Lieng.
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While her spirits are high, Mrs. Lieng is currently unhoused and staying with a friend, she told Becarra on his visit. She has lived in the area for years, sharing her home recipes from Vietnam. But times have been tough, business (up until recently) has been slow, and she’s even suffered a stroke.
Becerra learned all this on a slow day when the restaurant hadn’t seen another customer in at least three hours. Mrs. Lieng gave Becerra his meal for free after sitting with him during the surprise drop-in. Her act of generosity has been repaid in orders of magnitude in the weeks since.
After making his first visit and experiencing the hospitality Mrs. Lieng provided him, Becerra turned back to the web to inspire generosity by starting a GoFundMe to get the restaurant’s owner a new home, hoping to raise enough to cover rent, utilities and furnishings for at least three years.
More than 5,700 donations later, Mrs. Lieng’s fundraiser for a new house is 98% complete. We at I Love the Burg love seeing the support for small business owners and for our neighbors in the community, and we’d love to inspire anyone interested in getting this fundraiser across the finish line. Want to support in a different way? Go eat at Café Bích Nga, and follow them on Instagram to see more inside the restaurant.
“I can’t sit here and pretend what happened was random,” Becerra wrote on GoFundMe. “It wasn’t, and the fact that we hit $100,000 for her through people I’ve never met, in cities I’ve never been to, sending money to a woman they’ve never spoken to… that’s something way bigger than me. Bigger than all of us.”
Located right in the middle of Pinelles Park, this family-owned restaurant has been around since 2010. Located at 5572 Park Blvd N, Pinellas Park, Café Bích Nga is just a short drive for anyone living in the St. Pete area. Since Becerra’s visit, the restaurant has seen a huge uptick in visitors, and the response has been just as positive as Becerra’s.
“Food surprisingly really good,” a Yelp reviewer wrote. “Came for the funny name but stayed for the delicious Vietnamese food. Not fancy but definitely an authentic hole in the wall.”
