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Cali Baguette Express
Cali Baguette Express, a Vietnamese sandwhich shop opened on El Cajon Boulevard in April of 2008. Those new to this type of cuisine may be surprised that this traditional Vietnamese sandwhich, called banh mi, is served on a freshly baked
crispy French baguette. The contents of the sandwich are amazingly diverse. Ingredients include crunchy sliced pickled carrots and daikon, onions, cucumbers, cilantro, jalapeño peppers and a variety of meat or vegetarian options,
including roasted or grilled pork, Vietnamese ham, paté, barbeque chicken, turkey or shrimp.
The proud new owner of Cali Baguette Express is Joe Phung. He considers himself fortunate to have found such a superb location on the corner of 52nd and El Cajon Boulevard. The location also adds a claim to fame for being the only
drive-thru Vietnamese restaurant in all of San Diego. For fifteen years Joe owned a furniture store, but he saw the business slowing down drastically and knew that he needed to make a change. He held a meeting with his family, including
his daughter and son who are both in their early twenties, to brainstorm a more lucrative business investment. Joe embraced the opinions of his family and bought into the Baguette Express franchise, which operates in a few other locations
in Los Angeles and Arizona, and added Cali to the title in recognition of the family's residency.
 By providing his customers with great service and healthy and delicious sandwiches for only $3, Joe realizes his return on
this investment everyday by watching people smile as they eat. This is a family business, where both his son and daughter work at the restaurant as well. He is pleased to have the support of his family because together they feel a sense
of community building between their multicultural clientele. As he mentioned, "We aren't rich yet, but we make people happy, and in return, this makes us happy."
Valentine's Day Shopping Guide
Show Some Love for the Boulevard! Valentine's Day is a great opportunity to show the one you love what a great catch you are. Going out for dinner is a good start, but a little more effort will go a long way, so cruise down El Cajon
Boulevard, and plan the perfect date.
Our Valentine's Day Shopping Guide offers you a great opportunity to explore the Boulevard and support the local economy. As noted in a recent issue of the San Diego CITYBEAT, 60 to 70 cents of every dollar spent with a small business
stays in the local economy, compared with 6 cents for every dollar spent with a national retail chain.
Click
here for the Boulevard Valentines Day Shopping Guide.
Enhancing Small Business Through Technology
There are over 1300 businesses in City Heights representing a wide variety of goods and services and relatively few have any online presence. DiverseCity Tech was created to help small businesses leverage technology to improve productivity
and increase revenue.
DiverseCity Tech is a social enterprise based in City Heights that specializes in meeting the unique needs of the small business community. Their mission is to improve the financial prosperity of small businesses by offering low-cost,
high-quality web development. The DiverseCity Tech team is made up of young adults who are from the community who wish to give something back. They understand that it is in the best interest of the community to help small businesses
increase their customer base outside of City Heights. One of the ways the DiverseCity Tech team is addressing this need is by creating a City Heights Restaurant Directory with the purpose of attracting visitors to this vibrant and
ethnically diverse community. Basic listings in the directory are free and additional services such as PDFs of menus can be added for a minimal fee. The team is partnering with local business improvement associations, restaurant review
sites and local publications to promote the website countywide.
In collaboration with the El Cajon Boulevard BIA and other community partners, the Diversity Tech team will be hosting a free workshop in March where small business owners will learn about all of the free and low-cost tools available to
promote your business online. Stay tuned for details!
For more information about their services you can visit their website at:
www.diversecitytech.com.
Yelp About the Boulevard
Pho Hoa
4717 El Cajon Boulevard
Yelper: My girlfriend is 100% right on with this place "3 words.... BEST PHO EVER!!!".
I've tried pho at a number of places now and this place IS the best.
Friendly service and they get the food out to you fast and hot. Good sized place for groups, and did I mention it's the best pho in san diego?
Click
here for more yelp reviews.
Featured Utility Box
Artist Rick Hines and Elizabeth Pearson worked in collaboration to produce an exhibit of colorful, delicious fruit. Local residents and people throughout San Diego are drawn to El Cajon Boulevard for the numerous specialty grocery
stores and exceptional variety of ethnic restaurants.
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