When Summer Cao announced she was relocating Donwoori Korean restaurant to 22 Main Street, near the Winooski rotary, she told Seven Days that she planned to keep the lease at its previous home for a new Asian restaurant. Almost a year later, the 27-year-old expects her second eatery, Yên Vietnamese Café & Kitchen, to open at 65 Winooski Falls Way by the end of October.
With Yên, Cao is sharing the cuisine of her original homeland of Vietnam and honoring her father, who died there last year, she said. Lunch and dinner service six days a week will include Vietnamese classics — such as pho noodle soup, fresh summer rolls and garlic wok-fried water spinach — plus sticky fish-sauce chicken wings and five-spice grilled chicken.
The new restaurant’s name is pronounced “ee-uhn,” said Cao, who explained, “It means the sense of peace and comfort that you feel on the inside.” Her younger brother, Khoi, still works part time with her but has stepped back from a co-ownership role, leaving his sister sole owner of both restaurants.
Cao has repainted and redecorated the light-filled 35-seat restaurant space and packed it with plants. Yên will offer Asian-accented mocktails and cocktails, she said, as well as Vietnamese coffee made with imported beans roasted in Brooklyn. She described the robusta species of bean as “more earthy and nutty with twice the amount of caffeine” of arabica, which is more common in the U.S. In Vietnam, coffee is often lightened with condensed milk.
For updates, follow @yencafe.vt on Instagram.
This article appears in October 14 • 2026.
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