Looking for a new place to eat? Head to Banh Vivant in downtown Salida. Banh Vivant was conceived and created by Jahil Bragassa.
The name, inspired by Bragassa’s sister, is a play on words: it combines the Vietnamese word for bread, baked goods, and hand-held food with the French phrase bon vivant, which translates to “good living” and refers to someone who enjoys good food, drink, and celebration. Bragassa reflects, “I was a little hesitant to name the business this considering the troubled history of French imperialism in Vietnam and the long history of foreign governments meddling in Vietnam and the American armed conflict, [but] that would require many hours of history lessons to cover.” Bragassa continues, “Vietnam is a beautiful, vibrant country with equally beautiful and vibrant food and cuisine. They managed to take what they could from the French occupation of their country and adopted things like baguettes, crepes, pate and French cooking techniques and made it their own. I just find it fascinating.”
Before Banh Vivant, Bragassa ran the food cart, King Kaeng’s, first at Alpine Park, then at Tres Litros Beer Company. Bragassa was able to realize his dream of a brick and mortar restaurant when the right space became available to rent. “It seemed serendipitous and a little poetic [so] why the hell not,” he said.
Bragassa hopes to contribute a place to eat clean, fresh and affordable foods. They offer a curry menu from 4-7 PM in the evenings, which is, “really fun because every week is something new and it highlights different regional dishes from India and Thailand that you don’t perhaps see all the time. A little culinary adventure in the mountains of Colorado.” Along with the evening curry menu, Banh Vivant also offers a plethora of lunch options: creative banh mi sandwiches, salads, Vietnamese coffee and teas, and cookies.
Bragrassa’s favorite part of opening a business is creating a custom menu and experimenting with different flavors. However, Bragrassa acknowledges, “The paper work and legal side of it was a bit mind numbing and boring…the hard part is maintaining things and keeping up the momentum after the initial glimmer has gone.” Along with the business management aspect of operating a restaurant, Bragrassa also cites food costs as a current challenge that he hopes to overcome.
Bragassa loves Banh Vivant and the opportunity to nourish customers, hopefully making them smile in the process. “We’re finding our rhythm—dialing in recipes and systems within the business. We still have new customers every week and are slowly creating a reputation.”
Bragassa’s long term goals are to hone his craft and hopefully, get more plants for his shop. If you ever want a place to eat, especially salads, curry or desert, head down to Banh Vivant for some savory food. Banh Vivant is located at 110 E 1st Street. Banh Vivant is open Wednesday through Saturday from 11 AM – 7 PM with limited first come first serve dine-in and patio seating, as well as takeout.
