Tanunda favourite Vietnamese Food on the Go set for second spot at new Barossa servo

This iconic Tanunda establishment is opening a second location, in what is believed to be one of the first Vietnamese pho restaurants in a servo in SA. See the plans.

It has been a staple of the Tanunda food scene for three years, now an iconic food spot will see its name alongside fast food heavyweights as it moves into the freshly completed Nuriootpa service centre.

Vietnamese Food on the Go, of Tanunda fame, has revealed it is opening a second location at the $15m X Convenience on the corner of Belvidere Road and the Sturt Highway.

Owner Kylie McPherson said when she and her husband were approached to move into the service centre they thought it was an opportunity too good to pass up.

Mrs McPherson, who moved to Australia from Vietnam about 11 years ago, described how an incredible reception from locals had inspired them to branch out.

“This will be such a good opportunity to get some business from truck drivers and tourists who are passing through,” she said.

Tanunda favourite Vietnamese Food on the Go has announced they will open a second store at a Nuriootpa service station. Picture: Supplied

Tanunda favourite Vietnamese Food on the Go has announced they will open a second store at a Nuriootpa service station. Picture: Supplied

Mrs McPherson and husband Trent own and operate the small local business themselves.

Mr McPherson originally moved to the area to manage a saw mill but soon he and his wife’s passion for cooking took over.

With a culinary background owed to years spent in Mrs Mcpherson’s family restaurant in Vietnamese capital Ho Chi Minh City, and a love for cooking between the pair, the decision to open the Tanunda shop came easily.

Mr McPherson said when his wife told him she was interested in opening a Vietnamese food store he did not know what a Banh Mi was.

He then tried his first but Mrs McPherson said hers would be better.

While it was just Mrs McPherson running the shop originally, success soon followed and her husband traded in his hard hat for a set of chef knives.

The establishment has become famed for their $7 Vietnamese rolls, and the McPhersons hoped that recognition would be shared by whoever passed through the Nuriootpa store.

Mr McPherson said he and his wife travelled to Vietnam where they bought a secret Banh Mi recipe from the oldest bakery in Ho Chi Minh.

“It’s like KFC with the secret herbs and spices,” he said.

Pho and other traditional foods were also expected to be added to the menu at the new shop.

The shop is still being built but is expected to be completed in “weeks” with final details on opening times still being decided.

An original artist impression for the then much anticipated Nuriootpa service centre. Picture: Access Planning

The X Convenience it will operate from was much anticipated as it brought McDonald’s, the first in the area, and KFC with it, nestling them among the Barossa vines.

Within months of it opening nearby residents expressed their concern an “accident (was) waiting to happen” as schoolchildren rode their push bikes along the Sturt Highway to sample the McDonalds delights.

Residents suggested building a footbridge to help with crossing the highway, but a McDonald’s spokesperson told The Messenger the consideration of road crossing was part of the original development application.