THUNDER BAY – Ngan Cava is now living her biggest dream, but it didn't happen overnight.
Cava and her husband are the owners of the new restaurant, Ngan’s Chinese, which opened on Tuesday at 1200 Brown St. where Red Rickshaw Restaurant used to be located.
“I've always wanted to do this. It's a little scary, but I have a really good team of people," she said.
“I have chefs and I have just a little group of girls that come with me and we're just hoping for good things. We love Westfort. We just thought this would be the perfect set up for us,” Cava said, adding that she worked at Mr. Chinese for about 25 years before opening Ngan's Chinese.
“I'm excited. I feel like there's so much energy down here. There's so much going on and just to be able to bring that kind of energy to Westfort.
“The menu is something that basically I gravitate towards. I still want to honour the true bon bon and chicken balls (experience), but I also want to add things that I like and things that I would sit down to eat.
“I wanted to have authentic noodles. I wanted to have pho. Everything is made from scratch. We do the Shanghai (noodles) from scratch. It was just things that if I was to go to a restaurant, I don't want it to be the typical Chinese restaurant."
Cava's goal is to make the space her own as well as welcoming for others.
“I want it to be more my vibe, my aesthetic and then I want everyone to feel at home. I want customers to enjoy the space they're in. I want them to do it often and I want them to bring their families and their friends.
“I just want it to feel nurturing,” Cava said, adding that it has been a work in progress.
“Today's been awesome. The feedback and the people coming in were really amazing. They're all very positive and they're just kind. I really liked it.
“I feel like everyone's been really nurturing and so beyond kind. People have been helping without even having to be asked – out of the goodness of their hearts, taking time out of their day away from their families to support my dreams.”
Cava can’t thank everyone enough for the out pouring of support.
“Thank you to every single person – from the chef to the servers and everyone that's been in my corner through all this. I didn't think we could make it here, but we made it and I'm so excited for the future,” she said.
For more information about Ngan Chinese visit the website, Instagram and Facebook pages.
