After six restaurants in six years, one Boston chef’s breaking point became the internet’s most heartfelt rallying cry. A West Roxbury, Massachusetts restaurant owner is going viral after posting the rawest confession of his career, a tearful video captioned “Should I just close everything?” that has racked up 2.4 million views and counting.
Phi Pham posted the emotional clip to the Instagram and TikTok accounts of Yeanie’s Burgers on July 14. In it, the Boston restaurateur breaks down while questioning whether years of sacrifice will ever pay off. “What is all of this for?” he asks through tears, describing the hopes and dreams he has poured into his businesses.
Pham and his wife, Yeanie Bach, opened their first restaurant, Banh Mi Oi, in West Roxbury in July 2020. Six years later, their mini empire spans six locations across the Boston area, including a second Banh Mi Oi in Waltham, Greenhaus Cafe in Roxbury Crossing, Phinista Cafe in Fenway, Vang Coffee Bar in Quincy, and Yeanie’s Burgers and Social in Dorchester. A second Yeanie’s location is set to open in West Roxbury in the coming weeks.
But behind the growth is a cost most customers never see. Pham told Boston.com in an interview published Thursday that the video was meant as a PSA for anyone dreaming of owning a business, describing days that get “really messy” and “really heavy” with the entire company resting on his shoulders and no work-life balance in sight.
The heaviest part is personal. Pham lives in West Roxbury while his wife and young daughter live in the Washington, D.C. area, 500 miles away, so their daughter can grow up close to family. He sees them one week each month. In the video, he admits he spent his own birthday apart from them because, in his words, “I need to put the business first.”
He said every visit home and every FaceTime call reveals a slightly different little girl, her hair a bit longer, her face changed.
Thousands Of Small Business Owners Rally Behind Him
Pham never expected what came next. The video drew more than 4,000 comments on Instagram alone, plus a flood of supportive messages in his DMs, much of it from fellow owners wrestling with the same battles over debt, payroll, broken equipment, and customers squeezed by a tough economy.
In a follow-up video posted July 17, Pham thanked supporters and reflected that one of the lowest points of his life had somehow become “one of the most heartfelt moments I’ve ever had.”
He is still not sure all the sacrifice is worth it yet. What keeps him going, he says, is the difference his restaurants are making in their neighborhoods.
So what do you think, is building a business ever worth missing your child growing up? And Boston readers, have you eaten at any of Pham’s spots? Sound off in the comments below.
