New Roots by Ancient Waters

Thierry Nguyen, 38, owns a floating restaurant on the Rhône in Lyon. His journey from Vietnamese refugee to successful entrepreneur follows the river.

"My parents fled Vietnam by boat in 1979. I was born in a refugee camp in Malaysia. Water meant fear to them—pirates, storms, endless ocean. When we finally reached France, they never wanted to see water again.

"But water called to me. In Lyon, I'd skip school to sit by the Rhône. My parents were furious. 'We crossed oceans to escape, and you run back to water?' But the Rhône wasn't the South China Sea. It was powerful but contained, wild but navigable.

"I worked restaurant kitchens, saving every euro. My dream: a floating restaurant serving Vietnamese-French fusion. Everyone said I was crazy. Who'd trust Vietnamese food on a French river? Who'd eat on a boat in Lyon?

"I bought a old péniche, nearly sinking, for almost nothing. Spent two years renovating with my own hands and help from other boat people—literal boat people, refugees like my family who understood boats and dreams.

"Opening night, I was terrified. Would anyone come? But Lyon surprised me. Old mariners curious about the boat, young professionals seeking something different, Vietnamese families happy to find real pho on the Rhône. We were full.

"Now I employ fifteen people—French, Vietnamese, Algerian, Serbian. The river brings us together. When you work on water, you must cooperate. One person's mistake affects everyone. This creates trust, family.

"My speciality is 'Saigon-Lyon' fish soup—Rhône pike in Vietnamese broth with Lyon's pink pralines as garnish. It shouldn't work, but it does. Like me, I suppose—Vietnamese-French, shouldn't work but does.

"My parents finally visited last year. They stood on deck, watching the Rhône flow. 'It's beautiful,' my mother admitted. 'Different from our crossing.' I served them soup. They cried—not from sadness but from arrival. Forty years after fleeing by water, they'd found peace by water. Rivers can heal what oceans break."