Andy Nguyen's timing could not have been better.
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After taking a redundancy from his accounting job he needed work so he leaned on his passion for cooking, so he took over a Lake Heights store from his retiring uncle and aunt and set up the Bun Me Bar Vietnamese pork roll shop in 2020.
He was was perfectly placed to capitalise on the boom in popularity of the legendary Banh Mi, now in almost every suburb but only a few years ago harder to find.
"It's a very fast meal and a lot of times it's produced very cheaply - I wanted to put more quality and put my passion into it," he said.
"The success I've had has been quite a surprise, how many people have liked it. "I didn't have a food background, just a familial history," he said. "I've had a lot of help and learning from my mum - she's a great cook, in terms of recipes, learning from her, and expanding the menu."
The next year he added a food truck and took his rolls on the road, showing the food to other parts of the Illawarra.
Now he's taking matters into his own hands again, making the decision to close the takeaway shop in a month - but continue with his popular food truck of the same name.
It will give him the chance to spend more time with family, particularly his young son Oscar, while he works on how to take his next step in the world of food - having seen how he can make it work.
It means the people of Lake Heights might have to travel a bit further to get their lunch, but those in other suburbs might find the truck around the neighbourhood more often.
- BEN LANGFORD