How a humble corner store created a Sydney institution with a legacy spanning three generations

As a child, Brian Nguyen's childhood was filled by days being "forced" to help out at his family's shop.

He would spend summers in the '90s coming over from America, where his own family had settled after the Vietnam war, to be with his family here in Australia, where they had started a humble Asian grocery store in the South-Western Sydney suburb of Cabramatta.

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But more often than not, he would hastily stack one shelf before sneaking off to play with his cousins and all of the neighbourhood kids.

"You would be in the store, but then you'd run off. You'd be like, 'Oh, I'm going to run down the street and go check out that new store'," Brian recalled to 9honey.

"There weren't any arcades or anything like that in Cabramatta, but there's always somewhere to look or a toy store or something that we would go and find.

"You're just in your own world. You're playing hide and seek with your cousins … the whole world was your oyster."

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Back in those days there was no fear of stranger danger: "The whole community looks after you … Everyone knows each other and they kind of know, 'Oh, those are the Thai Kee kids'."

The shop's name, "Thai Kee" refers to his grandfather, Thai, after whom the corner store was named. He was the first in the family to escape the war and settle in Australia, where he pulled from his Hainanese heritage and made a living selling Chinese doughnuts to shops in the local area.

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After saving up for years, his children opened up a store serving the Asian community.

Across three decades it moved across the suburbs to where it has settled now in the heart of the CBD in Market City, partnering with IGA to become one of the biggest and most renowned providers of Asian goods, becoming a Sydney Institution.

Though there was always an air of festivity in the store, it was ramped up during celebrations like the Mid-Autumn Festival, and of course, Lunar New Year.

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"There'd be all the Chinese decorations of the symbols, all the Chinese characters," Brian recalled, "I remember the energy would just go up another level." 

The biggest change was that "certain foods would become available that aren't available all year round," like Lunar New Year candies and tangyuan (glutinous rice balls filled with sesame paste), which are eaten during festive periods. 

After long days helping customers at the shop, his family would come home to spend the holiday together. 

"My mum, she's quite superstitious, so she's like, 'Whatever you guys do, we got to come home and have a meal together'"

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More often than not, the spread would include stock from the store, including the tangyuan, which has a significant meaning.

"If we eat it together at this time of the year, it means that we'll always be together throughout the year," Brian explained.

He says the business' integrity comes from the authenticity of their products.

"The funniest thing is, because that's what [his mum] celebrates, and she's so authentic about it, it translates and it comes out to the store," Brian said.

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"We have to do everything for the community and put all these products out there. We have to make sure we can source it from the suppliers, but at the end of the day, even though that's the busiest day of the year, we still have to get home and we have to get together." 

After decades of seeing how his mum, uncles and aunts built Thai Kee from the ground up, Brian was inspired to carry on the legacy himself.

He opened up his own flagship store called Gong Grocer in the heart of the city in World Square, delivering the creature comforts of home in a sleek, modernised format.

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"What we try to do is we're bringing the Asian supermarket experience to be more modern … we're trying to do the modern fit outs, and make it comfortable for you to shop in the store. 

"There's nothing wrong with the Cabramatta supermarket or the 'mum and pop' shop -you go in there, it's really authentic. But I do find, being in the city or just the way the world is progressing, you can still do authenticity in a nice feeling.

"You walk in, you feel pleasant, but you can stay a bit longer and you're not, like, trying to grab it and run."

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This authenticity comes naturally to the specialty store, with any staff member – from the supervisors to the cashiers – having broad knowledge of the products available to approach at every corner of the store.

"Because all our staff are Asian and they actually know these products that you're asking for, it's quite nice… that human interaction, especially when it comes to something that's cultural."

Brian says his mind is always on how they can "(create) value for the community, (create) value for the business," thinking further about, "How can we do it in a way where we can expand it to give it to more people in the areas that they want and the products that they want."

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Though their purpose to serve the community remains the same as it did with Thai Kee, Brian has noticed a marked difference with his own venture, which he first took note of when one of his childhood staples was flying off shelves. 

Anyone who has frequented Asian grocers would be familiar with the quaint peach and mango shaped ice creams that have been stocked for decades. 

All of a sudden, Brian and his family couldn't keep up with demand for the product, with it having gone viral online.

"Social media has made people more aware.. it gives people the access to know that these products exist, and sometimes we don't know until it becomes a thing," he reflected on the boom in demand of Asian products.

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Despite how modern the store gets, Brian will never forget his roots. It's even in the name of the store, with the "Gong" referring to Thai, who the family would lovingly address as "Ah Gong", meaning grandfather. 

Looking back on their journey, Brian reflects on how his grandfather was part of the "first generation (of) refugees that came in with nothing on their back … 

"We're not trying just to survive anymore. We're trying to now serve the community and we're trying to be authentic about how we do that."

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