When Mr. Binh originally rented the space that became the old Dragonfly, he and his wife had intended to open a CD/DVD shop. It was what they had done for the previous six years in a different location. Yet, as he walked around in the new space that he'd just signed a lease on, he couldn't shake the feeling that it was just a bit too big to be only that. He felt he should do something more with it.
Other than obviously wanting to create a successful business, his only other requirement was that the business somehow involve music. It is his passion. With the new space, his first idea was to open a tour company. So many people seemed to be making a living that way, that it only seemed natural. However, needing music to keep himself sane, he also opened a small bar in the back of the room. A couple of shelves of books were added and a small group of regular customers began to call it home. Still, it suffered from the same shortcomings that so many Old Quarter businesses suffer from when trying to cash in on the tourist trade in too many ways at once. It wasn't quite a tour agency, and it wasn't quite a bar. In the summer of 2005, he decided to make a change.
The tour agency was sacrificed. Binh wasn't going to do without his music, and the foreign friends he'd made around the bar were full of ideas. Combined with those he had of his own, the Dragonfly of lore came into existence. The walls were painted dark. Urban/Hip-Hop inspired artwork graced the walls. Soft seating replaced hard chairs. In a very short time, it became a lounge that defied its spatial limitations to become a home away from home for many local expats on a night out.
From there, the enivitable lease conflict came up with the landlord. Any successful business in Hanoi (and especially in the Old Quarter)with a short lease faces a dilemma due to their very success. The landlord will frequently try to gouge the residents on the next lease, or simply kick them out and try to take over the business for themselves. In this case, the landlords wanted more money, and were tired of the neighbor's complaints concerning the bar's noise. Binh had to move, and rather than looking for a quick fix, he took a step up into a space many times large than his previous one....and locked it up long term. The new Dragonfly is a spawling space in comparison with his previous, cozy confines. Multiple rooms on two different floors offer a whole new twist on the Old Quarter drinking scene.