Jacksonville Chef Dennis Chan has attained countrywide recognition for his company acumen and leadership of his iconic cafe — Blue Bamboo Canton Bistro — as perfectly as its contributions to the local community and overall economy.
The U.S. Small Small business Administration has named Chan as the 2022 Little Company Particular person of the 12 months for Florida. Chan, who grew up in the cafe small business and is carrying on a family legacy, is a nominee for the nationwide award.
The SBA award acknowledges the achievements of fantastic smaller small business homeowners and business people nationwide. It also honors the contribution that their business enterprise has designed to their communities and the nation’s economic system,
Chan and the other state winners will be honored on Could 5 in the course of a digital summit celebrating SBA’s Countrywide Small Organization 7 days (May perhaps 2-5) when the national winner will be introduced.
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“It is really definitely an award for the group simply because for Jacksonville to have a Tiny Organization Administration award for the whole state really claims something,” Chan advised the Moments-Union, introducing that he was “really fired up” by the award.
Chan actually grew up in the cafe business enterprise. Starting off when he was 5 many years old, Chan would stand on a stool to observe his beloved grandfather prepare dinner foods at their family’s Jacksonville restaurant. His moms and dads carried on that custom. Their household had a full of 13 places to eat specializing in authentic Cantonese delicacies given that the 1940s.
Doing work in his family’s cafe, Chan pursued his childhood dream of possessing his own restaurant. He graduated from the Culinary Institute of The united states and then interned with widely respected chef Ming Tsai at his Blue Ginger cafe in Boston.
Returning property to Jacksonville, he opened Blue Bamboo in 2005 at its first Southside location. In spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, he relocated and expanded — opening Blue Bamboo Canton Bistro in late December 2020 at its present location, 10110 San Jose Blvd. in Mandarin. Chan’s desire restaurant, it was built from the floor up to his visions and technical specs.
“I preferred to go on that [family] legacy and do it at a level in which folks could be very pleased of getting this in our local community,” Chan explained.
The toughest obstacle he’s faced is “going and making a brand name new creating in the center of a international pandemic.”
Chan claimed he was at a loss for text when suitable ahead of design began, his lender termed and “requested what our Prepare B was” due to the fact of the pandemic.
The solution was simple.
“We continued to do what we do ideal, consider treatment of our prospects and we attained out to them and designed certain they loved all their activities with us and consequently we stayed in business,” he mentioned.
Chan lauds the restaurant’s employees who he explained are focused to providing their shoppers with the greatest doable encounter.
The SBA award is the most recent for Chan and Blue Bamboo.
In 2018, he received the Standard Mills’ Neighborhood to Nation Recipe Contest for his Mandarin orange cake. He also authored the bestselling cookbook “Hip Asian Comfort Meals.” Chan also is energetic in neighborhood functions these as Caring Chefs, an once-a-year fundraiser benefiting the nonprofit Kid’s Home Society.