Nestled near the heart of down town Long Beach, DoLy’s Delectables offers its loyal patrons the lingering sweetness of that last pleasant dream before rising for a new day. The little café follows in the French tradition and beyond and it is rooted in the love and trust of the establishment’s co-owners, Julie Do and Son Ly.

Immigrating to America from Vietnam at six months of age, Chef Son Ly doesn’t remember much of the country he left behind. Yet it was through assisting in the preparation of traditional family meals that Ly found not only a cultural connection, but also his calling to be a Chef in the grand tradition. After graduating from Le Cordon Bleu in Pasadena, Ly trained under Chef Mehdi Boudiab at Anisette Brasserie in Santa Monica. The two men share a tight friendship and it was Boudiab that recom-
mended Ly for his first lead job at Le

Pain Du Jour. But after three years, Ly yearned for a kitchen of his own.

Raised in the shadows of the skyscrapers of downtown Los Angeles, Julie Do soaked up the rules and necessary practicality of commerce. Do studied business and hospitality and worked her way up the corporate ranks at Denny’s and The Olive Garden: “I had to suffer a bit during my graveyard shifts to get my experience.” It was around this time when Do’s sister-in-law decided to take up the venerable if not slightly onerous role of family match-maker with her sights set on Do and Ly.

Leave it to our friends and family to see what we cannot, Do’s sister-in-law arranged Ly and Do to be the only single people at her brother’s 2007 birthday celebration: the two were seated at the same table and made to share the long car ride together. “I had always thought of her

as my friend’s little sister,” says Ly, as the two had been part of the same social scene for many years. A few weeks after that initial reintroduction, Do asked Ly for a cake baking lesson and the two have been inseparable ever since.

And hence Do plus Ly equals DoLy’s Delectables.

“The thing about Son and I is that when we got together, a lot of people thought we were the perfect match,” says Do, “People had the assumption that we were going to last forever. And so without knowing it, we kinda fell into believing it ourselves.” Sometimes all the responsibility and long hours overwhelms the young couple, but their balanced partnership and mutual desires drives them forward.

“We’re doing this for our future,” says Do.