Three kids daydreamed of opening a restaurant in Fresno. Their parents made it happen
It’s not unusual for kids to say, “Hey, we should open a business someday.”
The three Thach kids used to say it in the car or around the dinner table every time the family hit up a boba shop. Only one time, their parents took them at their word, remembers Caitlyn Thach, 21, of Fresno.
“We would just be joking around, not really serious. One day it did get serious,” she said. “It was like, ‘Oh we’re actually doing this.’”
Her parents, Sophea and David Thach, Caitlyn and siblings Natalie, 18, and Tyler, 14, are now running Sweet Ppang, a dessert, ice cream and boba drink shop in central Fresno.
It opened this past summer near the Golden Dynasty Chinese restaurant in the shopping center next to Target at Shields Avenue and First Street.
Dessert and drinks
It serves taiyaki — the little fish-shaped waffles popular in many Asian countries that are served warm with various fillings and toppings.
They come in sets of three for $6.25 or five for $10.95. They have fillings inside such as custard, but also Asian flavors, such as pandan (a green, vanilla-like flavor) and ube (a purple nutty flavor).
You can also get larger ones as cones with soft serve and toppings such as Oreo crumbles or chocolate syrup.
There’s also “croffles,” croissants baked in a waffle iron and topped with your choice of goodies (Nutella, for example).
And of course, there’s the boba drinks that started the whole thing. There are fruit teas, milk teas, and boba, popping boba and more.
And there’s another drink that’s increasingly popping up on Fresno menus: Thai green tea. It’s similar to the traditional Thai tea you can find around Fresno, but here it’s mixed with a little matcha to give it a green color and light flavor.
Although boba and taiyaki might seem like they attract young or Asian customers, Sophea Thach said they’re getting people from all walks of life.
“You’d be surprised. It’s everyone,” she said. “The kids, the teenagers, it’s more popular with them and then they bring it back to the adults.”
How did the family business start?
After mom worked in the trucking industry and dad as a truck driver, the Thach parents started their own trucking firm in Fresno. Sophea Thach wanted her kids to have the ability to own their business, too.
“I wanted to pave the way for them to become entrepreneurs themselves, rather than working for others,” she said. “It’s more worth it. When you work hard, it’s a lot more satisfying.”
But she didn’t think trucking was the way to go. But a boba and taiyaki shop? That she could see them doing.
Today all three kids, plus nieces and nephews, work in the shop. Oldest daughter Caitlyn is in her last year at Fresno State, about to earn her degree business marketing. She plans to take over Sweet Ppang’s promotions and marketing.
The family chose the name Ppang because it means bread in Cambodian — Korean, too. (The family all grew up in Fresno but is of Cambodian descent.) The word ppang also sounds a lot like pan, the Spanish word for bread. So the term sweet bread, or sweet ppang, spans a lot of cultures here, Thach explains.
And sharing her culture is part of the job Caitlyn said she likes. She finds herself introducing people to ube ice cream for the first time and watching them discover they like it.
“They get a little scared because it’s purple, but once they try it, their eyes kinda pop,” she said. “It is a lot of work, but it is fun.”
Details: Sweet Ppang is at 3211 E. Shields Ave. 559-412-8831.
This story was originally published November 14, 2024 at 5:30 AM.
