Arizona restaurateur Jenny Lê is kicking off a new chapter – but this time, she’s not in the kitchen, she’s on the pitch. Best known as the co-founder of Pho Bowl, Jenny is now the force behind Đà Nẵng Rising W.F.C., Vietnam’s first professional women’s football club founded and led by a Vietnamese American woman.
More than a sports team, Da Nang Rising is a revolutionary platform for representation, identity, and change. Jenny’s journey from Boston’s culinary scene to building a sports empire in Da Nang reflects the same fierce reinvention that defines her life’s work.
“There were no stadium lights for girls like me,” Jenny shared in her announcement of the club.
“No cleats on birthday lists. No cheers from the sidelines. Just expectation – quiet, heavy, and inherited.”
Jenny, whose past includes running award-winning restaurants like Tornado Lounge and Gastromé, brings the same heart and purpose to Da Nang Rising as she does to her food ventures: creating space where none existed. The team will be headquartered in Da Nang, which she calls “the heart of possibility,” and will feature both local talent and international players from the Vietnamese diaspora.
“This is the team I wish I had growing up,” she says. “And now, I’m building it for them.”
The club’s mission goes far beyond goals and games. Da Nang Rising will offer mentorship, community programs, and platforms for the women who wear the jersey to share their stories. Jenny’s drive to uplift unheard voices is also at the center of her debut memoir, From an Empty Bowl to Empire, launching alongside the club.
The book, described as part food memoir, part survival guide, and part love letter to heritage, weaves together recipes, resilience, and the intergenerational truths that shaped her.
Through food, storytelling, and now football, Jenny Lê is doing what she’s always done: turning survival into legacy—and building the future girls like her were once denied. Learn more about the club at danangrising.com or follow @danangrisingwfc on Instagram. The public is also welcome to join the launch party on September 7 at Boycott Bar in Phoenix. Learn more here.
