After securing a major expansion grant from the Savory Fund, Garden Oaks-Oak Forest’s drive-thru Vietnamese spot has finally opened its second location. The newest Saigon Hustle opened in Spring Branch on Friday.
Located at 1223 Witte Rd., the second Saigon Hustle brings an expanded menu of its signature Vietnamese eats. Customizable banh mi, salads and bowls are up for grabs at the neighborhood’s new eatery, alongside a new offering: pho. The drive-thru spot only offered ABC soup—a pho broth filled with alphabet pasta—at its original location at 3323 Ella Blvd. Other items include a variety of spring rolls and even deep-fried chicken wings.
Spring Branch’s Saigon Hustle is nearly twice as big as its original GOOF location. Like the OG spot, the restaurant will retain its signature drive-thru and well-loved menu. Unlike the GOOF store, the new location boasts a ton of indoor and outdoor seating.
Boasting a fast-casual vibe and highly customizable menu, Saigon Hustle has been touted as the “Vietnamese Chipotle.” Fans are particularly fond of Saigon Hustle’s chargrilled pork and honey-glazed lemongrass salmon options, which can be devoured in a sandwich, bowl, salad or roll format. Headed by co-owners Cassie Ghaffar and Sandy Nguyen, the restaurant debuted at its Ella location in February 2022, subsiding on its handy drive-thru. Ghaffar and Nguyen previously operated Saigon Hustle as a cloud kitchen from Blodgett Food Hall in 2020.
In August 2022, just months after its brick-and-mortar debut, the pair won the Savory Fund’s Million Dollar Restaurant Launch competition. The partners were awarded $1 million to expand the Saigon Hustle concept. Ghaffar and Nguyen also head the Ordinary Concepts restaurant group, which owns Hermann Park’s Ginger Kale and Sunday Press, which neighbors the Ella location.
