4770 Pleasant Street
Prior Lake, MN 55372
(952) 447-3664
Fax: (952) 447-3662
http://www.fongspriorlake.net
Restaurants come on the scene quickly and the reality is that many disappear from the scene just as quickly. A few manage to stay. Fewer, still, reach any kind of long-term iconic status. Fongs, in Prior Lake, is one of the exceptions. Thanks to Leo and Cindy Le, Fongs has not only endured, it’s become a full-fledged Chinese cuisine dining institution.
“It was Cindy’s dream to open a full service and expanded restaurant”, said Leo. In 1997 they opened Fongs at 4770 Pleasant Street with just over1600 square feet of space. 70% of their business in those early days was take out and 9 months later their growing customer base forced them to expand out another 7 feet “just to provide extra storage.” Fongs growth through the years continued unabated and in 2010 the final expansion brought about the new beautiful event center where the restaurant hosts many community events, including sports banquets and weddings. It’s an event center suitable for most of the community’s gathering needs.
The couple was pragmatic when they first became restaurateurs. “Success in the restaurant business is far from guaranteed”, says Leo. “I learned from my father that customers are number one and that happy customers come back. We’ve grown with the community and the community has embraced us in the most amazing way.” Most will agree that restauranting is more of a calling rather than a job. And even those who think they are called to it are often times completely unprepared for the amount of work and stress that comes with being a restaurant owner. Cindy and Leo Le are the clear exceptions. Their management of Fongs in Prior Lake has been an exemplary case study in ownership.
Cindy and Leo have three children, two girls and a boy. To no one’s surprise, they are both fans of the Food Network. Cindy even professes a fondness for Kitchen Nightmares and together as a family, they love evenings at home together watching American Idol. Ask Leo what is favorite kind of music is and his quick answer is Classic Rock from the 80’s. “I still love Styx and Journey”, he says.
A restaurant is a community gathering spot, and that sense of community can be very rewarding. Prior Lake has a number of great spots to frequent. Fongs is certainly at the very top of the list.
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