The grin on his face says it all. Sitting at a table at Paris Banh Mi in Doraville, Steven Truong can hardly contain his anticipation of watching the World Cup unfold in Atlanta. “Oh my God, I’m sooooo excited,” he says. “I want to feel the World Cup environment. I want to feel the heat. I can’t wait to see how many people gonna be in Atlanta.” For Truong, being in a host city like Atlanta is a boyhood dream come true. Growing up in Vietnam, he remembers playing pick-up games after school, usually barefoot with no equipment beyond a plastic ball. But as he looks toward the matches on local turf, he’s also anticipating the World Cup for another reason. For the first time, Truong’s restaurant will be part of Buford Highway Restaurant Month, which is being reimagined this June with a soccer spin – and more significantly – to raise the visibility of the multicultural businesses along the 30-mile corridor. Since June 2024, he and his wife, Ngoc Le, have owned Paris Banh Mi, a Vietnamese sandwich and coffee shop in Buford Highway’s Asian Square. They opened the restaurant fueled by a shared love of cooking and a need for change from running a nail salon. But Truong admits they’ve faced several setbacks since. Shortly after the couple signed the lease, his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. Then, inflation and import tariffs led to an increased cost of supplies, such as three pounds of coffee spiking from $12 to $25. Now with gas prices high, Truong believes there’s been a shift in customer behavior with more people eating at home to save. “Business has not been good the last couple of years,” Truong said. “So we are kind of struggling, just like everyone else.” While he loves the restaurant, he works seven days a week to support it. So when it comes to the World Cup, the couple needs a win. “I know it’s going to be a lot of people coming to Atlanta,” he says. “So we hope the [restaurant month] is going to bring a lot of people to Buford Highway and help everybody out.” While the international corridor has a well-established reputation as a diverse culinary destination, Lily Pabian, executive director of We Love Buford Highway, said Truong’s troubles are familiar ones. The nonprofit, which is dedicated to preserving the multicultural identity of Buford Highway, reports other area businesses are also feeling strained by rising costs and fluctuating customer traffic. “Folks mainly see the tacos, the Banh Mi sandwiches, and dumplings,” Pabian said. “So we work to raise light on the humans behind the talent and contribution, and what we see is that most need connections to resources and a listening ear to technical challenges.” “So the question is, how do we support these local mom and pops who make Buford Highway what it’s been for 50 years?” she continued. “Because if we lose our small immigrant businesses spaces, we lose cultures and the core identity of this corridor.” In response to current financial challenges, the nonprofit opted to re-brand its annual restaurant month this year, moving the initiative from August to June, while tying in a soccer-inspired scavenger hunt. Diners can track weekly clues, visit participating restaurants to locate and snap a picture with soccer balls in each spot and complete a 10-location challenge for a chance to win prizes. Pabian says restaurant participation in this year’s campaign is higher than it has ever been and hopes the interactive approach, timed with Atlanta’s “global moment,” will increase support for the businesses that make Buford Highway unique. “Soccer brings people together,” Pabian said. “It would be a really, really great win if we get folks from all over the world on Buford Highway.” It’s a win Truong is yearning for as well. “I hope the World Cup event going to remind people around this area, we still here,” he said. “Buford Highway is still here.” The post Buford Highway Restaurant Month moved to align with World Cup in hopes of boosting struggling businesses appeared first on Atlanta Magazine. ...read more read less