A restaurant blending Vietnamese pho with Louisiana-style seafood boils is set to open in northern Overland Park this September, taking over the space at 7702 Shawnee Mission Parkway that most recently housed Smoke Town BBQ. Pho & Boil will serve everything from traditional hot noodle soup to bags of crawfish tossed in garlic butter, with owner Ken Pham drawing on decades of family experience in both cuisines.
Pham's family lived in New Orleans for 40 years before he went on to operate a crawfish restaurant in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, according to The Kansas City Star. He told the paper that his pho recipe was passed down through his great-grandparents, grandparents and parents, giving the new restaurant a direct line to a family history of running a pho restaurant. That blend of backgrounds shows up on the menu, which will include pho, fried rice, bun, egg rolls and bò lúc lắc alongside boiled shrimp, crab and crawfish sold by the pound in portions ranging from one pound up to 20 pounds.
Diners will be able to choose between traditional Louisiana-style crawfish or a Viet-Cajun version that leans on Asian aromatics and garlic butter sauce, a style that got its start in the mid-2000s among Vietnamese immigrant communities in Houston who began tossing Gulf Coast crawfish in garlic butter, ginger, lemongrass and citrus, according to Houstonia Magazine. The style spread nationally after Hurricane Katrina pushed displaced Vietnamese residents of New Orleans into Houston, where the fusion took hold before eventually reaching California and other locations, per Vice.
Spice Levels, Sides and a BYOB Ambition
Pho & Boil plans a spice scale running from a mild level 1 to a fiery level 10, letting customers dial in their heat. Add-ons will include corn, potatoes and sausage alongside boil orders, and the menu also stretches to fried shrimp, fried catfish and chicken wings for those who want something off the boil track entirely. Bubble tea with tapioca pearls rounds out the drink options.
The restaurant will not serve alcohol on its own, but Pham wants to let customers bring their own beer or bottle of wine, per the same account from the Star. Ordering will happen at a counter with food delivered to the table, and the space will hold 65 indoor seats plus around 20 more on a patio. Takeout and delivery will also be available through third-party apps, and Pham told the paper hours could stretch to 10 p.m. during the spring crawfish season, though the restaurant will otherwise run from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday through Monday.
A Building With a Revolving Door of Tenants
The 7702 Shawnee Mission Parkway building has cycled through several concepts over the past two decades. It previously housed New York Dawg Pound and a teriyaki bowl spot called Maui Express before Smoke Town BBQ moved in during late 2020, as reported by the Johnson County Post. Smoke Town BBQ closed permanently earlier this summer after six years in business, with its owners citing personal circumstances and a desire to prioritize family time.
That closure followed the shutdown of Harp Barbecue in southern Overland Park, which the Johnson County Post attributed to staffing retention issues and surging beef costs. Together, the two closures illustrate the headwinds traditional barbecue operators have faced locally even as newer Asian fusion concepts move in to fill the vacancies.
A Growing Customer Base for Regional Flavors
Overland Park's demographics help explain why a Viet-Cajun concept might find an audience. Census Bureau estimates from 2024 show Asian residents make up roughly 8.9% to 9% of the city's population, or around 18,000 people, making it the second-largest non-White demographic group in the city, according to Data USA. The same data shows 11.7% of residents, about 23,400 people, were born outside the United States. Nationally, Asian-owned businesses had the largest estimated receipts ($1.2 trillion) among minority race groups, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Overland Park has a population of about 200,000, according to Data USA figures. That population, paired with a city undergoing broader restaurant growth, sets the stage for Pho & Boil's arrival. Just days ago, Hoodline reported that the Oak Park Mall owner's redevelopment plan includes three new standalone restaurant pads, part of a wider wave of dining additions across Overland Park this summer.
