You see it in restaurants everywhere. Emblazoned on menus and plastered on signs, boldly announcing “No Substitutions”. Ashly and Patrick Dang think differently and have been changing perceptions about Asian food along the way. They’re winning the hearts and minds of their customers with their willingness to feed everyone, regardless of substitutions.
Their journey started by feeding their friends and neighbors in their community during covid. That inspired sushi making classes at local breweries. “We just saved up,” shared Ashly Dang. “I took all the money from the sushi classes, and I put it away and never spent a dime.” They used the same tactic to expand to their Dang Good Sushi location in Trinity, and now their newest venture, Dang Good on Main, a saké lounge in downtown New Port Richey.
Ashly’s love of coffee inspired Dang Good on Main. “I love being able to take my laptop and go into Starbucks. You get to sit and work and have a drink and sit for three hours and hang out. I wanted it to be more of a lounge hangout spot rather than a sit-down restaurant. I wanted it to be a saké Starbucks.”
It was also inspired by a desire to offer late night food options for those needing a late bite downtown who struggle to find food that works for them. “I realized I hadn’t eaten all day, and then I realized that there’s no food down here for me to eat. So, this place opened because a woman got hungry and had no food.”
What few people may know is Ashly’s past struggles have fueled her desire to make sure everyone walking through her door will be able to eat. “I have an extreme fear of chewing and swallowing food. And anything can trigger it. When you don’t know the texture of something, or you don’t understand every ingredient that’s in a dish. That’s a dish that I could never order. I would go out and starve because I was so fearful,” shared Ashly. “I was always told growing up, be the person you didn’t have when you were younger. And I really took that to heart.”
That’s where a young, entrepreneur couple took the restaurant standard of “no substitutions” and threw it out the window. “When Patrick and I first talked about opening a restaurant, I said we can do whatever you would like, but I really want to take it to another level. I really want to step back and create a space where everyone can come in and eat and not be fearful. I can sense fear in people when I hand them a menu. I can tell they want so bad to order something. Those are my favorite customers. Because then I get to talk with them and see what they like. See what flavors they eat daily, and then I just make them something. I tell them ‘I got you. I’ll make you whatever you want.’ I have a child who orders a chicken and french fry sushi roll. Every time. That’s what she eats, that’s what she loves.”
That point of view has expanded to cocktails at Dang Good on Main where their most popular cocktail, “I Don’t Give a F@!&!”, is anything but what’s on the menu. “It’s fun for the customer, but it gives my bartenders a chance to shine with their creativity.” To keep it fresh, Dang has rules on how to craft it. “You can’t make something that is already a drink. And it can’t be something that’s on the menu or has been on the menu. So, it’s always something different and new.”
Their cocktail offerings shine with innovative saké and flavor pairings. “I don’t think anybody understands how many varieties of saké there truly are. And if they don’t have it, I make it. So, now we’re doing a green Thai chili infused saké.” They also seek out other local business when looking for new flavors, like vanilla bean salt from The Spice & Tea Exchange of Dunedin and honey from The Honey Couple. “We try to think of outside the box, instead of just your basics. We try to take it a step further and to pull out different flavors.”
What the Dangs have truly created is community. One built from local businesses helping each other succeed and customers that have found a safe space to hang out and explore food in ways they never expected. Anyone can find “home” at Dang Good on Main. To learn more, visit danggoodonmain.com.
“I was always told growing up, be the person you didn’t have when you were younger. And I really took that to heart.”
"I can sense fear in people when I hand them a menu. Those are my favorite customers. Because then I get to talk with them and see what they like. I tell them ‘I got you. I’ll make you whatever you want.’"