TAMPA, Fla. — Two years after a fiery protest burned down their restaurant, the owners of Saigon Bay in Tampa have finally reopened.

What You Need To Know

  • Saigon Bay is back open for the first time since May 2020

  • The family owned business is now in Temple Terrrace

  • The well-known Tampa restaurant burned down during protests for George Floyd that turned violent

  • The family owned business is now in Temple Terrrace

Their original location burned down during protests for George Floyd that turned violent in May 2020.

Ricky Lam and his family have never been happier to be back in the hot kitchen.  

“It’s good to be back working. You feel empty without doing something,” Lam said.

Ricky, along his parents Savi and Thanh, who are originally from Vietnam, spent two years rebuilding their business. They moved the restaurant to a new location in Temple Terrace.

Looking through pictures of the damage from that night is never easy.

“You just feel empty, because you wouldn’t expect this to happen to a small, family owned business,” Lam said.

The family had taken Saigon Bay over in 2016 but it had been there since 1990. It was a Tampa staple for many. They had just reopened from the COVID-19 shutdown, only to see it all burn away in one night.

“I was in awe. You feel like you’re in shock. It didn’t really hit me that night until the morning when we came over there and saw the damage,” Lam said.

Nearly everything inside was lost in the fire, but a few treasures did make it — the family was able to recover their Buddha statues in the debris. As Buddhists, that meant a lot to see them saved.

“We’re happy that we were able to recover a lot of stuff when we thought we lost everything,” Lam said.

Those statues are now proudly on display at the location.

Though the family misses the old location, they feel fortunate to be able to move forward here after a long two years of rebuilding. Many of their customers also returned.

“It’s a blessing and a curse. The curse being two years we had no business. Blessing because we got back with the support of our customers,” Lam said.

Nearly 40 Tampa businesses were damaged that night two years ago.

The fire at Saigon Bay started when someone set the connecting Champs Sports on fire. Dozens were charged in Tampa.

The new location for Saigon Bay is 11301 N 56th St, Temple Terrace, FL 33617.