BY ANGELA JOSSY for WEEKLY VOLCANO | 6/19/2026
I’m about to tell you something I wanted to keep to myself. But as I found myself in need of a food story this week, I realized I was being selfish. It’s time I let you in on my little secret.
If you read my letter from the editor last week, then you already know I’ve been working on losing weight since last December. This means I am very selective about what I eat.
My go-to spot for healthy, guilt-free restaurant food is Fresh Rolls. It’s fast, it’s fresh and the price is right. I take any chance I get to meet friends for lunch there.
My favorite menu items are the Shrimp Fresh Rolls with peanut sauce, the BBQ Chicken Banh Mi sandwich and the BBQ Chicken Rice Bowl. In fact, I love them so much that I have a hard time trying the other menu items.
This afternoon, I had the pleasure of interviewing owner Vu Nguyen about his restaurant adventures.
Angela Jossy: When did you decide to open the first Fresh Rolls restaurant?
Vu Nguyen: We had a restaurant in Vietnam before. When we came here, we saw that people were very busy, so we thought about a concept where we could make food fresh, fast and tasty. People could grab it and go and enjoy the food. That is how we started. The first store was in University Place.
AJ: What year was that?
VN: I think it was about 10 years ago. I do not remember the exact year. We closed that location because it was small and we could not expand the menu. About one mile from that location, we have another store in Fircrest with the same concept.
AJ: How did you end up moving to Washington state?
VN: I came here a long time ago. I went to school here and my family lived here.
AJ: What schools did you attend?
VN: Jason Lee Middle School, Foss High School and the University of Washington.
AJ: What did you study at UW?
VN: Urban planning and environmental science.
AJ: How did that education help with your business aspirations?
VN: I have not really had a chance to use it yet. Like many Asian families, my parents wanted me to focus on school, so I achieved that and made them happy. I got the bachelor’s degree.
AJ: Did your parents start the first restaurant, or did you?
VN: I started it with my wife.
AJ: How old were you when you opened the first one?
VN: I think I was about 35 or 36.
AJ: What was it like running restaurants during COVID?
VN: It was very challenging to survive. During COVID, we had five locations and did not get help from any landlord. We only got assistance for one location because all of the stores were under one corporation. If I had known COVID was coming, I would have put them in separate corporations, but I did not know that.
AJ: What made you decide to open more locations?
VN: Competition. The concept is easy because everybody can make spring rolls. I thought if we did not open more locations, somebody else would copy the concept. Even if we did not make a profit right away, we needed people to know us and see that we had several locations.
AJ: What advice would you give someone thinking about opening a restaurant?
VN: The first thing is the concept. You have to think about what kind of food you are going to serve. When we first opened, we stayed mainly on the organic and healthy side. Over time, we adjusted to make the food taste better because sometimes the healthiest version is not always what customers want. You have to be patient, adjust the menu and take feedback from customers.
AJ: Did you use any small-business incubators or financial resources?
VN: No. I did not have experience with financial resources here. I used my savings. Before this, I had done import and export. My wife had restaurant experience in Vietnam, so she knew how to run a restaurant.
AJ: How is running a restaurant in Vietnam different from running one in the United States?
VN: In Vietnam, labor and skills are easier to get. Here, labor is very challenging and expensive. For spring rolls, workers have to be dedicated and skillful. There is a technique to making them.
AJ: Is the peanut sauce a family recipe?
VN: Yes. It is a family recipe. We use good ingredients. It is not gluten-free because it has hoisin sauce and wheat in it, but we try to make it taste as good as we can.
AJ: What is the sauce on the barbecue chicken banh mi?
VN: It has pineapple sauce, chili paste and other ingredients. The sweet and sour flavor balances the taste of the sandwich.
AJ: Is the food the same as what someone would find in Vietnam?
VN: It is about 80% the same. The supply chain is different here, and American taste is different. The portions are also much bigger in America.
AJ: Are you planning to open more restaurants?
VN: Not at this time. Right now we are trying to focus on making all of them the best we can, improving quality and making sure customers are happy.
AJ: How did you choose your locations?
VN: Location is important. I looked for places near businesses like Starbucks or McDonald’s because they have traffic. When you do not have a big brand yet, people need to be able to see you from the location.
AJ: Do costs go down when you have multiple restaurants?
VN: A little bit, but volume is what really matters. You need enough volume to make more profit.
AJ: Do most customers come in, or do they order online?
VN: A lot of customers order online now. DoorDash is the most popular. Customers can also order through our website, ilovefreshrolls.com, and choose the location closest to them.
AJ: Why is ordering through your website helpful?
VN: It saves money because we do not have to pay the full DoorDash commission. Customers can order for pickup, or they can still use a DoorDash driver for delivery.
AJ: Do you have special sourcing for your produce and ingredients?
VN: We mainly use Costco and Restaurant Depot. Costco is our main source because the quality is consistent. It costs a little more, but it is worth it. We try to use the best ingredients because we are doing this for the long run.
AJ: What do you want more people to know about Fresh Rolls?
VN: We have good food, but more customers need to know about us. We need more exposure. We are a local restaurant with fresh food, and we want more people to try it.
To find the addresses of all 4 Fresh Rolls restaurants or to put in online orders, visit ilovefreshrolls.com.
