Ba-Le owner gets national award

Associated Press

President George W. Bush congratulated small-business award recipients, including winner Thanh Quoc Lam, at the White House yesterday. White House photo

Thanh Quoc Lam, president of Ba-Le Inc., was honored at National Small Business Week ceremonies in Washington, D.C.

Lam's company sells Vietnamese-style sandwiches, pastries and noodle dishes, and wholesale baked goods and deli sandwiches to airlines, caterers, hotels, supermarkets and restaurants statewide. The company is expanding with shops in Japan and China.

Lam, 43, fled Vietnam in 1979 aboard a boat with 186 people, landing at a Malaysian refugee camp. When he arrived in the United States, he had little money and minimal knowledge of English.

He opened his first Ba-Le — "Paris" in Vietnamese — sandwich shop in Chinatown in December 1984 with four employees.

The business now has 22 outlets. Lam employs 70 people at his headquarters and bakery. The company's 2001 earnings topped $5 million.

Lam is the second Hawai'i small-business owner to win the national award. Charles Nishioka of Charles K. Nishioka and Son Inc., which operates gas stations and tire outlets, was the 1987 winner.

Lam was selected from winners in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam.