If you ate at Mamasan’s when it opened in 1983 and were to eat the same meal there tomorrow, you would find the food tastes the same.
Co-owner Dr. Joe Walters said the secret to the consistency is the fact that his wife, Be, created the recipes for the sauces and still is the only one who knows how to prepare them.
The original restaurant opened on University Avenue in Rochester, and it relocated to Monroe Avenue in Brighton in 2003. Mamasan’s specializes in Vietnamese cuisine, featuring seemingly infinite combinations of rice and noodle bowls.
The inspiration for the restaurant came when the couple visited a Thai restaurant in Richmond, Va.
“She ate some of the food and she said, ‘I could make that, I know how to make that,’” Joe said.
While Joe was doing his medical residency at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Be, a native of Vietnam, started interpreting for Vietnamese refugees in the area. Be saw a need for an Asian grocery store in the area where the refugees lived and started one. She later opened a Vietnamese restaurant down the street.
“It became a center of the Vietnamese community and the university community,” Joe said.
The following is a question-and-answer session with Joe Walters:
Q: What was the stroke of luck or moment of inspiration that made your business possible?
A: I don’t know if it was going to that restaurant when I was in medical school and thinking she could cook that kind of food, or recognizing the need for groceries and food in west Philadelphia. If we had never been to those places, I’m not sure what she’d be doing. We just happened to be in a place where it triggered her to think about it.
Q: Besides your business, what is the community’s best-kept secret?
A: R’s Market for the bread
Q: What is the movie, TV program or song that best portrays what your business is like?
A: My wife’s favorite program when she first came to this country was “I Love Lucy.” That TV show was universal; even though my wife couldn’t speak English very well, she used to love that program. In some regards (Mamasan’s) is kind of like it. There’s a difference of language. Lucy spoke English and Ricky Ricardo spoke Spanish; there’s a difference of culture. It flip-flops around for us. I’m kind of like Lucy in a positive way. It’s a little bit like that.
Q: What item is always in your refrigerator at home?
A: Fresh fruit
