MODESTO, Calif. — A one-of-a-kind business in Modesto lost everything in a devastating fire back in June. But four months later, the owner of the Asian Market has his eyes set on rebuilding in a new location for locals that have spent decades relying on his products.
Trong Vuong’s Asian Market was destroyed by a fire back in June.
“I was just in shock, I didn’t know what to say or do," Vuong said.
The business, which had been a staple for the Modesto community for 35 years, was devastated by an arsonist, according to Modesto police.
“It’s hard, it’s hard seeing this space," he said.
The debris has since been cleaned up and only a few walls still stand where his business and four other stores used to live off of Carver Road.
“Being here for so long and seeing it the way it is now, it’s just sad," he said.
Vuong's store carried many goods on which locals depend.
“Family, friends, everyone would tell me, they’d go, 'Hey, what happened to this place? I mean we really liked going there. Where’d they go? Are they going to start up again?'” said Gong Lau, a property manager for the shopping center.
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“It is a one of a kind store for Modesto. We carried products that nobody else carried. We carried Korean, Japanese, Tai, Vietnamese, Chinese, every type of different nationality of food," Vuong said.
With no other businesses like his in town, his regulars have been forced to travel to other cities to get their groceries.
“A lot of the customers that I run into on the streets are all telling me that they have to go out of town to Stockton, to San Jose, to Livermore, to bigger grocery stores out of town, and they have to travel so they’re anxious to get me back," he said.
That’s why he just signed a lease to move into another building 10 minutes away on McHenry Avenue. The new location is more than double the size of his old business.
“We’re going to carry a lot more products, a lot more things that people have never really seen," he said.
When the Spirit Halloween store moves out in the middle of November, he gets to move in and start the process of rebuilding.
“Start from the ground up, doing floors, walls, painting, getting freezers, condensers, consoles, everything in there...there’s a lot to do," he said.
But Vuong wants his loyal customers to know, he’s not going to let them down.
“I want to tell them to just be patient. We are going to be back 100 percent and we’ll be up and running hopefully by February for all of the great customers out there," he said.
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