On February 16, a multi-vehicle collision on Bardstown Rd. resulted in a car driving up the curb, across the sidewalk, and into the dining room of Roots restaurant in the Highlands. One adult and two children were mildly injured in the collision on the road, but no one was inside the restaurant at the time.
The damage to Roots — and by extension, its sister restaurant Heart and Soy in the same building — was financial. The metal framework for the storefront was deformed by the collision, the glass was shattered, tables and chairs were broken beyond repair, and the plumbing in one of their two restrooms was also damaged. Roots closed that day, and because the replacement storefront frame and glass were manufactured in Germany and shipped over the Atlantic, the restaurant's re-opening date has been unknown. Until now.
After more than three months of repairs, Roots will reopen on Monday, July 1.
Owner Huang "CoCo" Tran grew up in the south central coastal province of Quang Ngai in Vietnam, the daughter of a businessman. On May 2, 1975, when CoCo was 29 years old, she fled Saigon with her family. They traveled on a merchant ship to ports in Bangkok, Hong Kong, and Okinawa, until they finally landed in Taiwan. While living in a Taiwanese refugee camp, CoCo connected with her brother Tim Tran, who was studying at the J. B. Speed School of Engineering at the University of Louisville. Three months to the day after fleeing Saigon, CoCo arrived in Louisville on August 2, 1975.
Since then, she has opened five restaurants: The Egg Roll Machine in 1981, Café Mimosa in 1984, Zen Garden (the first vegetarian Asian restaurant in Louisville) in 2000, Zen Tea House in 2008, and Roots / Heart and Soy in 2011.
Operated by a Vietnamese family of women, including Van, Tammy, and Winnie, Roots serves Pan-Asian favorites like phở and ramen alongside inventive fusion like a ginger poached pear served with marinated feta and Kentucky Colonel spearmint tossed in a citrus vinaigrette. Their diverse menu of loose leaf tea is unsurpassed in Louisville.
Although the mural on the boarded-up storefront has been a vibrant placeholder since it was painted by Chappell Murals and Art in March, Louisvillians who love vegetarian Asian food will rediscover their happy place when Roots finally reopens.
