Featured Image: Mick Jacob
Dung “Junior” Vo’s childhood and early adult life directly influenced one of his biggest career goals: open an omakase experience of his own.
He grew up in coastal Vietnam, surrounded by extended family who all worked with seafood—one sold fish, another specialized in shellfish, some were fishermen, the list goes on. From childhood on, food has been at the heart of his entire life.
“One of my favorite meals was when mom would cook lemongrass chicken,” Junior shared. “She’d grill them, and we’d sit around this little charcoal fire and we’d eat it off the grill with some steamed rice. It was very simple, but it’s about the feelings, right?”
Junior’s mom passed away when he was nine years old.
“I have two older siblings, so dad would’ve been raising all three of us in a country where it wasn’t a guarantee we would be fine,” Junior said. “So we found a way to get to America.”
With family already in Atlanta, it was an obvious place to plant roots. And while life in America was certainly different, Junior (a remarkably positive, no-nonsense guy) faced the challenge head-on.
“Learning a new language was crazy,” he said. “I went to school and didn’t know anything. People would say, ‘what’s up’ and I didn’t know what to say back.”
But nevertheless, he persisted, and soon took up a new hobby that would ultimately shape his entire career. He’d get home from school before his family, and he’d be hungry. So he started cooking easy meals for himself in the afternoons, leaning on his more experienced aunts and uncles for advice on how to improve.
Cooking remained a hobby, but when graduation rolled around, he followed his friends to Georgia State and pursued a computer science degree.
“I hated that,” Junior laughs.
If you’ve ever been to Atlanta, you know the woes of traffic and long commutes. Junior needed extra money for gas, so he got a job at a local hibachi restaurant. There was a language barrier between the chefs and guests, and he grew frustrated when guests’ requests were laughed off or ignored.
“I wanted a better guest experience,” Junior said. “I asked the manager, ‘Can I just cook?’”
They gave him a chance at a family teppanyaki table on the weekends. The other chefs took notice, and began teaching him tips and tricks to help perfect his craft.
“I enjoyed cooking so much,” he said. “I learned to cook for people and cater to their needs… because then I got tipped more.”
He watched a documentary called Jiro Dreams of Sushi (then on YouTube, now on Netflix), which he credits for sparking the dream of opening his own omakase experience. The hibachi restaurant had a sushi counter, so he asked his manager if he could learn sushi. He did, and eventually, he held a key to the restaurant.
Then, he got hired by Jon Murray to work at O-Ku in Atlanta. He started the same day as Wilson Brannock.
“We were orientation buddies,” Junior says. “Wilson was a server and I was a sushi chef. Here’s the kicker—Wilson and I lived and graduated in the same county. He and I had so many mutual friends, but we never knew each other.”
The story goes that Jon, Wilson, and Junior forged a friendship climbing the ranks together at O-Ku, eventually all finding themselves in Charleston. There, Wilson moved into Junior’s house, and the trio got together for backyard barbecues during the pandemic. The idea to open a restaurant together literally came to Jon in a dream, and soon enough, their sights were set on an Asian, wood-fired concept that would live in Nashville.
“We had known each other for almost a decade, but business is a whole different thing,” Junior said. “This is the hardest but best leap, because we all have faith in each other.”
Noko debuted in early 2023, catapulting in popularity not only because of Junior’s flawless dishes, but also for the unwavering hospitality the trio has pioneered.
“We have the same North Star: change the way hospitality is,” Junior added.
For this reason, Noko was the debut recipient of Modern South Magazine’s Southern Charm Award for excellence in hospitality, presented by Walton’s Antique & Estate Jewelry.
While Noko has earned a rightful spot on Nashville’s list of “bests,” the goal was never to stop there. With uproarious applause city-wide, they began teasing the opening of their second concept in 2024.
Kase x Noko opened its doors in early December and has remained the toughest reservation to get in town ever since. As a 14-course, 14-seat omakase experience with Junior at the helm, the restaurant is an actual dream come true.
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