A young Seattle restaurateur will be filling big shoes — and big bowls — with his latest project Xóm set to take over the space left empty by the closure of Marmite in Chophouse Row.

To add to the challenge, Xóm won’t even be the first new restaurant 27-year-old Cuong Nguyen has opened this year.

It is a fitting changeover. Seattle restaurant veteran Bruce Naftaly created Marmite around his soup and broth creations. Nguyen’s Xóm has his family’s contributions to the Seattle area pho scene at its base.

Nguyen was born in Vietnam, moved to Seattle in 2005. By 2008, his parents opened Pho Ha in Shoreline and he began working there as a teenager. While it was first seen as a task, he found his passion in the family-owned business. While managing Pho Ha, Nguyen opened Ong Lam Bistro in Greenwood in January.

“I can’t go back home too often. I wanted to make something like home work here, especially for a lot of the elder immigrants that got here in 1970-80. Because of the political issue, a lot of them still avoid trying to go back, even though they miss home because that’s where they are from,” Nguyen told CHS.

Nguyen plans to hold a soft opening for Xóm ăn nhậu later this month. The Vietnamese restaurant will join the ever changing Chophouse Row food and drink scene by taking over the recently closed Marmite after its six-and-a-half-years run.

“It wasn’t even in my plan,” Nguyen said of the Xóm location. “I just opened this one [Ong Lam] this year.”

Nguyen said he was hoping to open another location in 2024, but his agent texted him about the available Chophouse Row listing three hours after it popped up online. Mentally, he said, he was unprepared for the possibilities the available listing brought forth, but he was familiar with Chophouse Row.

“It’s funny how I walked by that spot two years ago before I opened this [Ong Lam], and I snapped a picture—I sent it to my agent,” Nguyen said.

The memory of his agent, and quick communication, led Nguyen to check out the restaurant’s bones and to submit paperwork. When he was approved, he said his dream came true and he almost couldn’t believe it because “it’s the perfect location.”

The new restaurant’s name translates simply as “neighborhood” but Nguyen hopes it will mean even more.

“I like the look of the rustic, and the alley. It makes me feel like a little secret neighbor inside of Capitol Hill,” Nguyen said, adding that the neighborhood is vibrant and lively thanks to the robust nightlife. “Then, when you get to that little spot, you feel separated.”

Although Nguyen built Ong Lam from the ground up to create an indoor Vietnamese haven with low chairs and table imported from Vietnam some of the largest indoor trees you’ll find in a Seattle restaurant, Xóm will bring a different feel to Capitol Hill.

“The majority of the stuff inside will be wood, steel, and concrete—those being the main thing. The reason why, if you know about Chophouse, you see how they try to keep that concrete and steel. In Vietnam, it’s very similar like that, and for Xóm, I wanted to have a very close or easy feeling instead of fancy,” Nguyen said.

The flavors of Ong Lam Bistro and Xóm will also be different as Nguyen makes it a point to try to feature offerings you won’t find in other restaurants in the city. Nguyen said he admires Vietnamese restaurants in Seattle, but that they primarily offer the same dishes, including pho, rice dishes, and banh mi.

“So here, we also have pho, but besides that we have other dishes that you cannot find anywhere else. We also elevate it and we turn it into something that’s beautiful, but still has the original taste and flavor,” Nguyen said. “Xóm will be similar, but different items, different food, but still elevated—very authentic Vietnamese, but then authentic doesn’t have to be low-key.”

Some of Ong Lam’s current offerings include Bún Đậu Mắm Tôm, which is boiled pork belly with crispy tofu, chả cốm, elsholtzia mints, cucumbers, mixed shrimp paste, and rice vermicelli cubes. Ong Lam also offers Nước Mía, which is a fresh-pressed kumquat sugar cane juice. Nguyen brought up how the sugar cane is imported from Vietnam, and then pressed right here in the city. Nguyen takes pride in the presentation of the dishes, which are bursting with color, and playful yet elegant.

There are also opportunities in the busier neighborhood.

“At Xóm, we will have brunch, which is something this location [Ong Lam] is not offering yet,” Nguyen said.

Nguyen plans to move swiftly with Xóm, as he always seeks to dream big. On Labor Day, he began taste testing the new menu, and the following week, will focus on training and consistency. While he has several applications to go over, most of the staff for Xóm have already been onboarded.

Through his work and seizing opportunities when they arise, Nguyen takes time to reflect on how his journey and success began with his mother, Ha Nguyen.

“She is my hero and true inspiration, because for her, coming here with us in 2005, no English, and she was able to open her first restaurant within two-and-a-half to three years—and she worked and her success is defined by hard work,” Nguyen said. “Thank you, because of her, there to teach me and build the foundation for me—that’s how I have an opportunity to be where I’m at today.”

Nguyen expects Xóm’s grand opening to take place in mid-October. Ideally, he would like to hold a Lion Dance and firecrackers but he has to check with the city first. Regardless of fireworks, a Lion Dance will come to 11th Ave.

“We believe normally, Lion Dance comes with firecrackers and the firecrackers represent to scare away all the bad luck, and Lion Dance represents cheerful, like a blessing,” Nguyen said.

Nguyen looks forward to hosting and feeding Capitol Hill visitors and residents through Xóm, while expanding Vietnamese cuisine in the neighborhood, and making close community connections.

“At Xóm, we want to create that environment of just, come in, have a drink or have a bowl of oho on a rainy day,” Nguyen said.

Xóm will open soon at 1424 11th Ave. Learn more at xomcapitolhill.com.

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