History
The commitment to succeed was one of Thomas Ky's top priorities when he immigrated to New York City from Vietnam in 1978 at the age of 13, as part of the mass exodus from Saigon. He was placed in a foster home where he started mowing lawns and shoveling snow to send money home. Once he was old enough he began working in various New York City restaurants washing dishes and bussing tables and learned the finer points of cooking and running a successful restaurant in the hope of one day owning his own. Thomas moved to Hawaii in 1984 and worked day and night at local restaurants to save enough to start his own restaurant. In 1987 Thomas' dream became a reality when he and partners opened Salerno's a popular Italian restaurant in McCully with a steady flow of customers. With a taste of success Thomas sold his shares in the business and opened his own restaurant in Kailua. He called the restaurant Assaggio and today there are 6 award winning locations throughout Oahu.