It’s rare a small independent restaurant finds itself in the crosshairs of a huge national chain and lives to tell about it. Tott’s Asian Diner has done it twice.
In 2006, Pei Wei, the fast-casual offshoot of P.F. Chang’s, opened one of its nearly 200 locations next door to Tott’s, offering a similar menu of wok dishes influenced by China, Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
After Tott’s more than held its own against the corporate behemoth for four years, California-based Habit Burger Grill decided Tott’s space was the perfect spot for its first Arizona location.
Before we get to these battles, though, a little background is in order.
Talk of the Town Asian Diner – the official name, although everyone just uses the acronym Tott’s – was born in 2003, taking over Yoshi’s Asian Grill on the southeast corner of McClintock and Guadalupe in south Tempe.
The new owner brought in two consulting chefs from Hong Kong to create a menu, and enlisted the help of his brother-in-law, Yung Truong, who’s run Tott’s since day one.
Truong’s strategy? Offer tasty yet healthier versions of traditional Asian dishes, in large portions, and at affordable prices.
“If we cooked 100 percent authentic, I don’t think a lot of people would eat our food,” he says. “The way we cook is for a new generation. Less oil, no MSG added – that’s why people love our food. Because it’s fresh.”
No detail is too small for Truong (pictured above with assistant Paul Galbreath). Vegetables are sliced daily. The limited amount of oil used is soybean oil. The dining area is always spotless. Staff is required to wash their hands not once but twice before handling food.
The first several months were slow, Truong remembers, until Tott’s received a glowing review from Adrienne Frank, dining critic for the East Valley Tribune’s Get Out magazine.
A surge of soon-to-be-regular customers, and a host of other media acclaim, quickly followed.
There goes the neighborhood
Orange chicken, lightly breaded and covered in a sweet, gooey sauce, became the signature dish, although the pad thai was a close second. “And our sweet and sour chicken is popular with older customers,” Truong says. “We have some seniors who regularly drive all the way from east Mesa for it.”
Tott’s quickly became a neighborhood favorite, drawing a eclectic mix of families, co-workers, college students, and more than a few members of the media – all of whom were surprised when P.F. Chang’s decided to open a Pei Wei next door.
“We had a lot of local support, people who came in very angry,” Truong says. “‘Why does a franchise come in here?’ they asked.”
Fearing the worst, Truong’s brother-in-law considered converting Tott’s into a Hawaiian BBQ joint, a fast-growing concept in the Valley at the time.
“I said, ‘If you change it, I quit,” Truong says. “‘Give me six months,’ I said. ‘If we’re getting kicked bad by Pei Wei, we’ll change it.’ Guess what? We got more customers.”
Indeed, customers rallied around the small independent. Many Pei Wei diners discovered the food was better next door at Tott’s. Some of Pei Wei’s cooks left to work at Tott’s.
And so Tott’s might have spent years basking in a rare victory over a national chain. But it proved to be short-lived.
“One day I was at Starbuck’s (which shared the two-suite building with Tott’s),” Truong says. “‘Tott’s Asian Diner is done,’ the manager told me. I said, ‘What the heck are you talking about?'”
Tott’s lease was almost up, and Truong and his brother-in-law had agreed to a five-year extension. The landlord, however, had other plans.
Habit Burger, which was launching a major expansion into the Valley, was in. Tott’s was out. It was given 30 days to vacate.
Challenges are nothing new
Many people might have thrown in the towel at that point, but Truong is not like most people. Although his parents are Chinese, he was born in Vietnam, where his family owned a coffee and tea plantation, and grew up in Hong Kong.
In 1979, at age 19, Truong moved to California, Americanizing his first name from Duong to the easier-to-pronounce Yung. His name, however, was the least of his problems.
“After 1975, the tea and coffee plantation was gone,” he says. “The Communists took everything. It was very tough on my family. I had to send money home.
“I was working two jobs, and I had to learn the language. I was a janitor at night for years, and I went to school to learn English. It was a difficult situation.”
The burden eased over the years as family members joined him in this country. In the meantime, Truong started a family of his own. He moved to Gilbert because of the town’s highly regarded schools.
Today, he proudly talks about his son and daughter attending ASU, where he’s majoring in biochemistry and she’s studying to be a nutritionist.
Given his work ethic, Truong didn’t sit still. Acting on a tip from a former customer, he discovered an available space – a former fast-casual Pickup Stix – just three miles south of Tott’s former home.
His brother-in-law decided not to join in the new Tott’s venture, so Truong began the process of putting his home up as collateral. At the last minute, however, his brother-in-law decided to join him again.
“I said. ‘Fine. You want back in? You can be in charge of financials, but I’m in charge of the business,'” Truong says.
On Feb. 18, 2011 – just two months after closing at the previous location, Tott’s reopened on the northwest corner of McClintock and Ray in Chandler. That first day, the line stretched out the door (pictured above).
The battle goes on every day
As its 10-year anniversary approaches, Tott’s remains popular. Revenues are up, but so are expenses. Food costs have soared in recent years, but Truong has balked at passing them along to customers.
“Our goal is to stay fresh, good cooking, and competitive price,” he says. “Our shrimp dishes have 14 shrimp. Shrimp went up $3 per pound this year, but I’m not going to cut the number of shrimp. Chicken went up, too.”
The menu and recipes remain almost the same as the day the restaurant opened. Orange chicken still is the No. 1 seller, although Singapore rice noodles and Kung Pao also are favorites of its new neighborhood.
Truong considered getting a liquor license to serve beer, but learned it would require expensive renovations to the restrooms and a fence around the sidewalk patio.
He’d also like to provide delivery service but can’t figure out how to do it and keep the food as hot and fresh as that served at the restaurant. And he refuses to compromise on quality.
Truong also refuses to take days off. He says he hasn’t had a vacation in seven years, fearing “if one thing goes wrong and that customer spreads the word around, we’re done.”
It’s a bit of an exaggeration, of course, for a restaurant that averages four stars in nearly 200 Yelp reviews and has earned four-star reviews from the Arizona Republic and East Valley Tribune.
“We’re very fortunate to have good and loyal customers,” Truong says. ” That’s how we’ve stayed in business for 10 years.”
Tott’s Asian Diner, 4030 W. Ray Road, Chandler (map), is open 10:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday, and 11:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Sunday. 480-897-7928. tottsasiandiner.com.
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