For decades, long-established bakeries, shoe repair shops, and electronics repair stores in Da Nang have become familiar shopping destinations for many locals. With their reputation and quality products, these shops have enriched the urban economic landscape, where generations of artisans always respect and preserve traditional values.

Despite fierce market competition, Do Van Chien's shoe repair shop still thrives thanks to a loyal customer base. Photo: T.Y

Nostalgic taste of bread

Whenever  65-year-old Nguyen Huu Thong returns to Da Nang to visit his family after nearly 30 years in Canada, the first thing he does is take a taxi straight to the Quoc Doanh ( State-run) bakery on Nguyen Chi Thanh Street, formerly on Hung Vuong Street.

In his deep nostalgia for his homeland, he says he always imagines the taste of the hot, fragrant, and soft inside, and crispy outside bread here. Back when he attended the Phan Chau Trinh Senior High School, every afternoon as he biked past the bakery, the aroma of the hot bread combined with the scents of pâté, cold cuts, salt and pepper, and chilli sauce wafting through the air was an irresistible invitation.

In the memory of this middle-aged man, throughout the 80s and 90s, people would line up early in the morning in front of the bakery waiting for the new batches of hot, crispy bread. Not only did the smell of baked flour evoke nostalgia, but the name "Quoc Doanh” also brought back memories of the subsidy era and rationing in the land by the Han River. Nowadays, the crowded scenes of the past are gone, but the appearance, quality, and flavour of State-run bread have remained unchanged over the decades.

After many ups and downs, the Quoc Doanh bakery brand now belongs to the family of Mr. Luong Van My. Mr. My occasionally mentioned Mr. Chan A, who established the bakery in 1952. At that time, this was the only bakery in Da Nang that operated around the clock. Its bread was favoured for its long, densely filled, pointed ends that kept it hot and crispy, with a faint scent of baked flour.

In 1976, when deciding to emigrate to the United States with his family, Mr. Chan A gave the recipe to the state, and the Quang Nam - Da  Nang Food Company (former) took over. About a decade later, the bakery was upgraded by the Quang Nam - Da  Nang provincial government (former) into the Quang Nam - Da Nang Food Processing Enterprise under the company, producing only bread and naming it Quoc doanh ( State-run) bread. Like many "State-run" shops during the open-market economy, the bakery faced competition from many other brands like Ong Ti, Tien Thanh, and Dong Tien, leading to a decrease in the number of workers, from 80 to 18 with low income.

While many bakeries sought new recipes to meet consumer tastes, the Quang Nam - Da Nang Food Processing Enterprise remained dedicated to preserving the familiar flavour that generations of Da Nang residents enjoyed.

That's why Mr. Thong always wants to return to the Quoc Doanh bakery, to rediscover the familiar taste of his youth. Thanks to the efforts of the bakers and the customers' affection, the Quoc Doanh bread, once on the brink of bankruptcy, has made a strong comeback, creating jobs for dozens of workers with salaries ranging from VND 7 - 10 million.

Passionate about the craft and customers

While the Quoc Doanh bread retains customers with its familiar flavour, many humble shoe repair shops still thrive amidst hundreds of luxurious stores selling leather shoes in the city centre.

Mr. Nguyen Minh Hoa, living in Phuoc My Ward, Son Tra District, is a regular customer at the Avina Shoe Repair Shop at 64 Ngu Hanh Son Street. 18 years ago, while wandering to buy a pair of shoes for a party, he fell in love with Avina shoes for their good leather quality, perfect stitching, and affordable price, which at that time ranged from VND150,000 to VND200,000 (now about VND450,000 to VND500,000).

“I believe that a good shoemaker can not only hide the flaws of the feet but also quickly grasp fashion trends to create beautiful shoes suitable for modern life, and Avina is such a place” said Mr. Hoa.

In the small 20-square-metre shop filled with shoes, Mr. Do Van Chien - the owner of Avina - says that nearly 100 years ago, along with goldsmithing and herbal medicine, the craft of shoemaking was highly respected in society. If done by hand, shoemaking is quite laborious, as most steps from pattern creation, leather cutting, smoothing, hole punching, and leather shaving, to ratio adjustment are all done manually.

“Pattern creation and leather cutting are the first but crucial steps because each pair of shoes is uniquely designed to meet the requirements and size of each customer. Additionally, to increase softness and comfort for the customer, the shoe soles need to be smoothed with broken glass, a traditional technique I learned from my early days in the trade. These steps require patience and skilful, delicate hands that modern machinery cannot replace,” Mr Chien summarizes after nearly half a century of maintaining the handmade shoe shop despite fierce competition from the modern market.

Thanks to his skilled hands, Chien's customers are mostly those with feet that are too large or too small. With over 45 years of experience, he says that shoe sizes often differ by 3 millimetres in width and 5 millimetres in length. Therefore, if a customer with a size 38.5 foot buys size 38 shoes, they will be tight, and size 39 will be loose. The only way to overcome this is for the shoemaker to discreetly add a 5mm thick rubber pad. Similarly, for customers with wide feet, the shoemaker will flexibly apply water to the inside of the leather surface to increase its elasticity. Then, use a plastic dummy foot slightly larger than the shoe to stretch the leather. The stretching time is about 3 hours to "kill" the leather. This way, customers will have perfectly fitting shoes without needing to visit a shoe repairer.

In a similar vein, while the home appliance and electronics market continuously improves in quality, design, and competitive pricing, many still go to Trieu Nu Vuong and Doan Thi Diem streets to buy nails, rearview mirrors, blenders, amplifiers, TVs, refrigerators, washing machines, and fans that have been used.

Mr. Nguyen Anh Vu, the owner of an electronics repair shop at 49 Doan Thi Diem Street, says that after more than 30 years of business there, he can't remember the number of customers who have visited. Still, he estimates he has about 15 regular customers who frequently return. These are a source of income and deep social relationships he has built over many years.

In conclusion, loyal customers have brought joy to sellers like Mr. Chien and Mr. Vu. Over the decades, with their reputation and product quality, these shops have contributed to enriching Da Nang's urban economic landscape. Alongside the remarkable economic growth, the traditional values of commerce are always respected and preserved by generations of artisans.

Reporting by TIEU YEN - Translating by T.VY