Vietnam Refugee Sees His Dream Come True in L.A. Go Up in Flames

Luong Truong fled Vietnam more than two years ago with the dream of making it to the United States and owning his own business.

He made it to Los Angeles, and his friends pitched in earlier this year to help him purchase a supermarket on Beverly Boulevard that catered to the area’s growing Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese communities.

But Saturday, all that remained of Truong’s dream was a burned-out shell. The Cathay Market, 3969 Beverly Blvd., was destroyed by a blaze that Los Angeles City Fire Department investigators said was caused by faulty electrical wiring.

Thirteen companies extinguished the fire about 45 minutes after it was reported at 8 a.m., Battalion Chief Don Case said. The blaze apparently started in an office and quickly spread to the attic. From there it ignited the roof, which soon collapsed, Case said.

Fire officials estimated damage to the structure and the store’s contents at $320,000.

Truong, 29, said he was surprised to learn that faulty wiring was the cause of the fire. The previous owner had not told him of any problems with the wiring, he said.

Truong said he had wanted to leave Vietnam since the Communist takeover in 1975. The government had forced him to give up a family owned grocery store in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, and ordered Truong, his mother and his sister to work in the countryside at menial jobs, he said.

“It was hard to earn a living,” said Truong, who is unmarried. He said he was troubled by the political instability in his country and wanted to leave.

He said he defied the government’s orders to go to the countryside, despite his fear of being thrown into jail. “I just stayed there and tried to get out” of the country, he said.

His opportunity to leave came, Truong said, only after he saved up $6,000 to bribe a government official to expedite his family’s visa applications.

The Truongs arrived in Los Angeles about 2 1/2 years ago. Truong said he quickly started looking for business opportunities.

Seven months ago he bought the market, which had sold only Thai groceries before, and expanded the merchandise to include Vietnamese and Chinese food items. He said he willingly worked 12-hour days.

“Business was good from the beginning,” Truong said, and he thought about eventually opening other markets.

“It was a good start for me,” he said Saturday as he stood next to a pile of charred receipts and papers salvaged from the blackened building. He said he wants to reopen the market but is not sure he will have enough money to do so.

“It’s a big shock,” he said. “I’m a little bit discouraged.”