The Story
Eden Center is the largest Vietnamese commercial center on the East Coast. The center has over 120 shops, restaurants, and businesses. They've got pho, bahn mi, bakeries, markets, and cultural events.
How did Eden Center come to be?
After overthrowing the French in 1954, Vietnam became embroiled in civil war. The North wanted communism, while the South favored capitalism. The North won the war and over half a million Vietnamese came to the U.S. The D.C. metro area became the third largest destination.
In the early 1970s, the subway's extension into Clarendon left the area covered in construction debris. Therefore commercial rents were cheap and affordable to new immigrants. Earlier Vietnamese business owners set up two grocery stores in the neighborhood. After the 1975 fall of Saigon, more set up shops, drawing additional customers. Soon the area became known as Little Saigon.
Eventually, the metro station opened and rents increased dramatically. Vietnamese business owners left Clarendon for a shopping center in East Falls Church. Eden Center opened in 1984.
