There's an Asian restaurant near Addison with a one-of-a-kind obsession: spring rolls. Called Nem Spring Roll Bar, it specializes in Vietnamese fresh spring rolls, with an emphasis on customization that encourages diners to "build your own."

The restaurant opened in late spring 2025 in the Prestonwood Place shopping center at 5290 Belt Line Rd. #114, in a former Pho Bowl space next to Jeni's Ice Cream.

It has a fast-casual format with a simple but brilliant menu that begins with a base of five options:

• spring rolls
• rice bowls
• vermicelli noodle bowls
• salad
• banh mi

From there, you customize: adding fillings such as shredded lettuce, cucumber, shredded carrot, bean sprouts, mint, basil, and jalapeño; protein options such as chicken, steak, shrimp, tofu, mushrooms, and beets; and sauces from an array that includes peanut sauce, fish sauce, pineapple sauce, tamarind sauce, ginger-sesame dressing, and more.

It's affordable: Three spring rolls are $11. Banh mi is $9. The bowls are $14.

There are also snacks such as wings, nuggets, flat eggrolls, and fried shrimp wraps, and they recently introduced a limited-edition chicken & waffles special.

Nem is by Winston Phan of Vie Concepts LLC, with a menu crafted by Kay Akhotmy. Phan is a local food & beverage veteran and a previous franchisee of Yumilicious, Sip Stir Coffee House, and Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ Restaurant.

"I’ve always loved the simplicity of a fast-casual concept like this," Phan says. "It's efficient for customers, as well as restaurant owners."

Akhotmy, who has been friends with Phan for more than 20 years, wanted to design a menu that would home in on fresh ingredients while honoring their heritage.

“Our flavors are Vietnamese flavors,” says Akhotmy. “I wanted to bring those, but with a modern twist on the dishes I grew up with.”

“Our ancestors were very limited with resources,” adds Phan. “They cooked with whatever was around. But now, with unlimited resources and modern ideas, we like to fuse those together.”

They hope to open more locations, not only in Dallas, but in the Austin and San Antonio areas as well. Seeing customers enjoy the tastes of their homeland is the most rewarding part of their journey.

“As we grow, we want to add more, and we want to introduce our customers to traditional and modern flavors,” says Akhotmy. “We are planning to add more to our menu, and hopefully everyone gets to experience the Vietnamese culture.”