PENDLETON — When the Pendleton Quiznos went out of business last year, Lam Ha saw the space as the perfect location for a restaurant dream more than a decade in the making.

Ha’s dream came true earlier this month when he opened Haven Pho, a Vietnamese restaurant in place of the former sandwich shop location at 204 S.W. 20th St. in Pendleton.

“I planned this like 10 years ago,” he said.

Ha, who came to the United States from Vietnam roughly 20 years ago, developed a love for restaurants while working at his sister’s Vietnamese restaurant in Arlington, Texas, and set out on a journey to own one of his own.

Despite his interest in restaurants, Ha has owned and operated nail salons since he moved to the region more than a decade ago, and ran a nail shop in Walla Walla, Washington, before opening Pendleton Nails across the parking lot from his new restaurant about a decade ago.

When a location opened up near his nail salon, Ha said he moved quickly to secure the spot and began renovating the space in September 2020. Ha chose to name the new restaurant after his 5-year-old son, Haven.

“I looked for a spot, but some were too big or too small,” he said. “Because this place is close to the nail shop, I can go back and forth.”

Ha said he has wanted to open a Vietnamese restaurant in Pendleton for the better part of the last 10 years because he wanted to bring Vietnamese food and culture to the people of Pendleton.

“I want to open up Vietnamese food so the local people can try different things,” he said.

Ha said when he first moved to town a lack of Vietnamese food inspired him to want to open a restaurant, and while Pendleton’s dining options have diversified some since then, Ha’s desire to run a restaurant never faded.

When putting together his menu, Ha said he wanted to stick with what he considers staples of Vietnamese cuisine — pho dishes, steamed rice with pork or chicken, and egg and salad rolls.

Since opening his restaurant, Ha said it has stayed busy with dine-in and takeout orders. The dining room was buzzing with people on the evening of March 4, as customers ventured in to try the new place to eat. One customer joked with Ha that she had come by to get her nails done while picking up a to-go order.

As customers filed through, Ha and his staff worked diligently to fill orders as steaming bowls of pho and egg rolls were carried to tables.

“It’s been busy and tiring,” he said.

Ha said the restaurant is currently open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. for takeout and dine-in service.

While business is steady, Ha said he has had to remain optimistic amid the pandemic and COVID-19 restrictions. With restaurants across the country closing due to the pandemic, Ha said he keeps focusing on the end of the pandemic to stay motivated.

“I think the pandemic is going to go away,” he said. “Hopefully, everything is going to go fine.”