UC Berkeley graduates armed with pho noodles and optimism are betting that they can conquer the late night delivery food market among students.

Following a brief trial run during the summer, Pho Me Now reemerged Nov. 2 with a new base of operations for the service, which brings traditional Vietnamese noodle soup to customers into the wee hours of the night.

The four owners of the service-Anson Tsui, Simon Shue, Jimmy Nhan and Steven Hsiao, who are all self-funding the business-said though plans are in the works to open a restaurant with sit-down dining, current efforts aim to solidify a following among students.

UC Berkeley junior and Pho Me Now customer Jeff Yu said the business accomodates the college lifestyle.

"There aren't that many delivery options," Yu said. "And warm food is nice, especially when you're in a rush and you don't want to cook."

Tsui said inspiration for the service came from their experiences at UC Berkeley.

"We were students, too, and then at night after partying or studying, we would be hungry, too," he said. "And this is really just a way to give students warm soup at night. We wish this had been available when we were students, so now, we're giving it to them."

Shue said the first step in developing the service was creating the Web site used to take orders during the initial 19-day opening last July.

Based on their initial success among students, the four leased the kitchen space located near the intersection of University and McGee avenues and are developing a menu and business model, which could lead to the offering of regular, on-site dining in the future.

Any changes to the business will not stray from the founders' original style, including the focus on convenience and keeping prices low, Shue said.

Though additional staff may be hired in the future, he said, employees would need to reflect the community from which Pho Me Now emerged.

"(The) people that we would hire would be those that work well in general and also work well with us," Shue said. "We're going to keep the culture the same."

He added, however, that the business has encountered skepticism from customers due to its youthful ownership and casual culture.

"Some people are like, 'Why are you guys cooking?' because we're not the typical people that would be ethnically authentic," he said. "But all the recipes we have are authentic. And in terms of quality, we're not matched at all."

The founders said the company hopes to overcome such obstacles by encouraging customer feedback, especially through a comment section online.

"We're always looking for improvement and new dishes," Shue said. "We want students to tell us what they like and what they want different."

Tags: PHO ME NOW