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Who is Mike Nguyen? 'Noodle Tree' chef attacked with racial slurs in Texas amid shocking anti-Asian hate crimes

An Asian American chef named Mike Nguyen has refused to back down after being attacked with racial slurs as he slammed Texas Governor, Greg Abbott, for removing the mask mandate

San Antonio restaurant owner Mike Nguyen faced a lot of racist comments from a certain section of society who did not agree with the comments he made during an interview with CNN. The Asian American chef found the racist slurs covering his restaurant’s windows and patio tables later that week and he immediately knew the reason behind such a cowardly act.
However, he did receive a lot of support from people as they came out in large numbers to support the chef. People helped Nguyen in cleaning the racist graffiti and tried helping him by providing some monetary help as well.
 
Despite having so much support, Nguyen felt that the hatred he saw in the minds of people was really disappointing. He also revealed that he is flooded with death threats, one-star online reviews, and awful messages since his appearance on the news channel.

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“I definitely know 100 percent it had something to do with the interview. When you first see it, you’re kind of shocked, and then you realize this is real. Then, anger took over. I was so mad I ended up pacing back and forth trying to wrap my head around this,” Nguyen told The Washington Post.

So, what was the reason behind all the racist graffiti? Will he back down and keep his restaurant closed after the unfortunate incident?

Who is Mike Nguyen and what did he say about the removal of the mask mandate? 

Mike Nguyen is a California native who moved to San Antonio in 2016. As soon as he reached San Antonia, he opened up a restaurant named 'Noodle Tree' and achieved a lot of success. People gave the restaurant a rating of 4.7 on Google and have been praising some of the authentic Asian cuisine served at the restaurant.

Nguyen is currently facing a lot of health issues due to lymphoma, a rare type of cancer that starts in infection-fighting cells of the immune system, called lymphocytes.

Lymphoma also forced him to close his restaurant for six months, last year.
While appearing on CNN with Poppy Harlow and Jim Sciutto, Nguyen slammed Gov. Greg Abbott for lifting the state’s mask mandate. During the interview, he said, “His decision to drop the mask mandate is selfish and cowardly. There’s no reason to do it. A lot of us feel like he’s putting a lot of us in danger.”

His comments did not go well among the supporters of Abbott and decided to express their disappointment by painting the walls and windows of his restaurant with racist slurs like “Kung flu,” “commie” and “hope you die.”

Social media comes in support as Nguyen says he won’t back down 

Nguyen made another appearance on CNN and sent a clear message that he won’t be “back down”. He also noted that the death threats and hate comments have increased and he is concerned about escalated violence.
“There is some concern. The threats and hate comments have increased. But, I do have some concerns that this is going to escalate to something worse. The death threats and other kinds of threats are coming in, so there is a lot of concern. I was very upset. I tried to figure out why would people have so much hate with my opinions,” Nguyen told CNN.

He also uploaded a set of photos on Instagram and noted that his windows are now filled with “love and support”. He said, “On Sunday our window was filled with hate and ignorance, but by Monday our windows were full of love and support. That’s such a powerful message we are sending. I will start by saying THANK YOU, everyone, for all the love and support since Sunday.”

He also shared that if people want to help him then they should buy gift cards from the restaurant’s website. “We are gonna use those gift cards to buy a meal for the members of the community.”

Social media shared his IG posts on Twitter and extended their support to Nguyen. Many believed that it is heartbreaking to see such incidents happen so frequently. One user said, “Heartbreaking. Will never know what drives certain people to incite vandalism & damage to others. It's unacceptable, very immature, hurtful. Life as it is now, for anyone is very difficult, but more so when you throw in stupidity from highly uneducated people. Hoping for a change.”

Another user said, “This totally breaks my heart can’t tolerate this kind of hate just because we are Asian. #StopAsianHate.” Another user noted, “You know it's sad when people are just trying to make a living and doing what they like to do and this vile crap comes out. These are words from our last President, get over he lost the election. This man is a US citizen so treat him as such and go out and support him.”

One user said, “I am honestly disgusted at whoever had the heart to do this. UTSA students please go by and show their business some love!!” Another user wrote, “So sorry to hear. Mike Nguyen does not deserve this.”