Texas Connects Us: From Refugee to DFW Restaurant Mogul

From refugee to having it all, there's a man behind the Asian restaurant that's quietly taking over the North Texas food scene.

Joe Keovixay was only eight-years-old when he and his family found refuge in Old East Dallas, after escaping communist Laos by boat.

"I felt lost and left out. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to expect. The food was different. The language was different," Keovixay recalled. "We lived, actually, in the projects. Mom worked by herself, because dad would be sick — supporting four children with a minimum wage."

A family of six was living off $5.25 an hour.

"I worked so hard. Two jobs. But I have to keep going to do that," said Joe's mom, Sue Keovixay.

Joe's father ended up having terminal cancer.

"We felt like, how is mom going to make this? Dad is always at home. I want to be able to support mom, help her out, so I started working," Joe Keovixay said.

Joe Keovixay spent years serving food at McDonald's, IHOP, Olive Garden, and movie theater concession stands, until he took a leap of faith that changed his and his family's lives forever.

"My passion is to cook, so I learned how to cook through mom, and also through grandma. I met my business partner while working together, and we decided we wanted to open a restaurant together. And then it skyrocketed from there," he said.

Zenna Thai & Japanese Restaurant became a hot spot for late-night Asian eats, and quickly expanded to several locations all across Dallas-Fort Worth. Because of his success, Joe was finally able to retire his mom.

"I'm very fortunate to live that dream here in America, to be able to support my mom. I don't want her to go back living that lifestyle," Joe Keovixay said.

From having nothing, to having it all, while never forgetting where he came from.

"I would credit all my success to my mom and my business partners. Without my business partners and my mom, I'm really just Joe," he said.