A Look at San Diego's Convoy District: Exploring Culture Through Food

The Convoy District is known as one of the City of San Diego’s most vibrant and culturally-rich neighborhoods.

In 2020, the area was officially designated as the “Convoy Pan Asian Cultural and Business Innovation District.” Two years later, in August 2022, six freeway signs went up along I-805 that read “Convoy Asian Cultural District” in hopes of encouraging drivers to visit.

It is home to more than 200 restaurants, like longtime staples Jasmine Seafood Restaurant and Dumpling Inn (both of which opened in 1994). Most of them are small, Asian American and Pacific Islander (APPI)-owned businesses.

“When we have family and friends coming in from out of town, they’ll ask where do we get good food? First thing, go to Convoy Street,” Brian Ly told NBC 7.

Ly is one of the owners of Boba Bar. It is located in the heart of the Convoy District, and the same plaza as Jasmine and Dumpling Inn. There is also Kura Revolving Sushi Bar, Uncle Tetsu, Mochinut Donuts San Diego and Iceskimo.

“We get so much foot traffic in this area,” said Ly. “I think being in this plaza with two or three different, big restaurants as a boba shop and a dessert shop, it helps out.”

Ly started Boba Bar with his wife, Tiffany Tran, and her father in 2013.

“He’s from Vietnam, so he knew what boba was,” said Ly. “At the time there was maybe like three shops on this street, so he saw the opportunity and he’s like, ‘hey let’s jump on this.'”

Ly said he and his wife drank boba almost daily, especially in college, when they needed a pick-me-up to get them through long days.

“We drank a lot of boba and we knew a lot about it,” said Ly. “We were almost every day at a boba shop.”

When Boba Bar opened, there weren’t many other places serving boba around Convoy Street. At first, customers would come in curious.

“A customer will come in right behind and be like, ‘hey, what is that you’re drinking?'” said Ly. “It’s a great way for the community to kind of come together.”

Now, boba is considered much more mainstream.

At Boba Bar, they serve everything from teas to smoothies, Vietnamese coffee and instagrammable desserts made on what they call ‘puffles’ or made-to-order waffles with a circle pattern instead of squares.

“If you’re looking for drinks we have like milk teas, taro milk teas, matcha milk teas,” said Ly. “Those are super popular. You’ll find those at almost every boba shop.”

At the end of the day, Ly said their top priority is making sure there is something on the menu for everyone to enjoy.

“We try to take these flavors that are Asian-influenced, or from Vietnam, and we try to modify the flavors so it's palatable to the American culture,” said Ly. “And at the same time, hit the palette of the traditional or the cultural Vietnamese people that come over and they try it.”