ARLINGTON, Texas — With the menu pretty much displayed on the sign out front, customers at Rocketbelly in Arlington aren’t in for many surprises.
That is, until they meet the owner.
Eleven-year-old Olivia Huynh runs the place. She saved most of the money from modeling and acting gigs.
Huynh says Rocketbelly is the only self-serve bubble tea and chicken joint in Texas, but it’s really a smorgasbord of Huynh’s dreams, which is obvious in the décor.
“I really like space,” Huynh said.
The entire restaurant is filled with space-themed pictures and memorabilia. Huynh is so into space, she eventually wants to open a restaurant on Mars.
“It’s my favorite planet,” she said.
The entire restaurant is meant to be the inside, or belly, of a rocket. Hence, the name Rocketbelly.
The store’s logo is what Huynh calls a cat-stronaut, a cat astronaut, because she says she’s "a crazy cat lady."
The entire place is out there, which begs the question, "Why would her parents agree to this?"
“Our parents were never really supportive of our dreams, so when I grew up, I was like, ‘I wanna be different,’” said Mary Huynh, Olivia’s mom. “I want to support my kids' dreams so that they can actually be whatever they want.’”
That’s why they -- Mary and her husband Joseph -- encouraged Olivia to dream, but also tried explaining that restaurants rarely succeed and perhaps it’d be wiser to invest in something else.
But Olivia was persistent.
“As an adult, you kind of see the roadblocks,” Mary said. “With a child, they don’t see the roadblocks.”
That’s good because Olivia may be on to something. Virtually every customer has given a rave review and many keep coming back.
She says each person’s dreams may look different than everyone else and that’s ok, because the real secret to success is you.
“Do what you love to do,” she said. “Do what your dreams tell you.”
And always reach for the stars.
Rocketbelly will be closed June 18-28 for small upgrades.
Other local eats: