History

The commitment to succeed was one of the only things Thomas Ky brought with him when he immigrated to the United States at the age of thirteen, but he managed to turn his dreams into reality through years of hard work, sacrifice, and an unrelenting devotion to creating a better life for his family.

Immigrating to the United States from Vietnam in 1978 by himself as part of the mass exodus from Saigon, thirteen-year old Thomas Ky was placed in a foster home in New York City where he quickly starting working in order to send money back to his parents in Saigon. Thomas mowed lawns in the summer, shoveled snow in the winters, and when he was old enough, took jobs washing dishes and busing tables in restaurants to send money back home. While he worked at various New York establishments, Thomas educated himself on the finer points of cooking and running a successful restaurant by listening and watching everything around him with the hopes of one day owning his own business.

Thomas moved to Hawaii in 1984 and worked day and night at local restaurants such as Hee Hing and Dynasty washing dishes and cleaning tables, often pushing himself to work harder so that he could support his family, as well as save enough for his own restaurant. In 1987, Thomas’ dream of opening his own restaurant became a reality when he and a few partners opened Salerno’s in McCully. An Italian restaurant with a steady flow of customers, Salerno’s did well for Thomas and his partners, but he sold his share in the business in 1989 and decided to open his own restaurant in the Kailua Business Center. He called the restaurant “Assaggio” and today, Thomas owns five of the award-winning restaurants throughout Oahu.