In the heart of Magdeburg's cathedral quarter, the Vietnamese café "Maison Lê" opened its doors for the first time in October 2022. The café has been winning over local customers with its Asian-inspired dishes and drinks for a year now. However, the small business has its origins on Magdeburg's university campus, where the owners, a trio of siblings, studied.
The sibling trio Hoang, Lilly and My Lê grew up together in Magdeburg. Inspired by their parents' self-employment, they chose the Bachelor's degree programmes in Business Management and International Management. At the university, the young entrepreneurs particularly appreciated the content of the modules, but also the familiarity with each other. "We knew each other and it felt like a small family," reports Lilly Lê. Even back at university, it quickly became clear that each of the siblings was particularly good at a different subject area. Lilly Lê explains: "At our company, you can see very clearly what we were already good at during our studies and what we are now also good at in 'real life'. She herself has always liked the modules on marketing and entrepreneurship best. Fittingly, these elements also fall right into her area of responsibility today. Her sister My, on the other hand, still excels in finance and accounting. Hoang Lê discovered his talent for management during his studies and still runs the Magdeburg café together with "Mama Lê".
But where did the idea of opening her own café come from? During a trip to Korea, the youngest sister My was inspired by local specialities that were still largely unknown in Germany. This gave her the impetus to venture into the catering industry with a café. The first opening finally followed in 2021 in Berlin, where the two sisters have been living for some time. The courage to set up the business paid off, as the business is doing extremely well. After just a short time, the question of expansion arose. But instead of Hamburg or Munich, they decided to return home - back to Magdeburg.
One of the popular classics at Maison Lê: the egg drop sandwich. (Photo: Maison Lê Magdeburg)
Other big cities were not an option at the time, says the graduate. Being back in Magdeburg felt like coming home. Despite initial concerns and worries about the risk of reopening, the conversion work soon began, and Maison Lê Magdeburg was created in four months of intensive preparation on 35 square metres in Magdeburg's city centre. In the meantime, Maison Lê has already celebrated its first birthday and the owners can take stock. According to Lilly Lê, they have particularly fond memories of the warmth and familiarity of the people of Magdeburg over the past year. She estimates that around 90 per cent of café guests are regular customers. The concept is therefore more than just accepted by the people of Magdeburg. Particular favourites include the Korean-inspired "Egg Drop" sandwiches filled with fluffy scrambled eggs and the "Croffle": a cross between a croissant and a waffle.
In the near future, the three university graduates want to expand their activities outside the shop. The founders can well imagine catering, events and collaborations with other Magdeburg restaurants or the university. Further expansion into other cities is not off the table either, but at the moment the main focus is on remaining consistently good, explains Lilly Lê.
For the three siblings, working with the family is the key to success. "I was initially sceptical about family businesses. But my siblings have shown me that it's perfectly possible to work together," explains Lilly Lê. She urges young entrepreneurs never to lose courage and faith in their own ideas. But good support is also important, because: "Without friends and family, we wouldn't be where we are today". All three agree: they would do it all over again, including studying at the University of Magdeburg. Because what they learnt there helps them today in their everyday lives as entrepreneurs.