Sacramento entrepreneur · Chinese and Vietnamese American
Billy Ngo
Founder, chef and partner, Kru Contemporary Japanese Cuisine
Opened Kru at 23 in 2005, grew it into a restaurant group and became a 2024 James Beard finalist.
Billy Ngo is the founder, chef and a partner of Kru Contemporary Japanese Cuisine in East Sacramento, and a partner in a group of restaurants that grew out of it. In 2024 he was a James Beard Award finalist for Best Chef: California, and the only Sacramento chef among that year’s semifinalists.
By the numbers
The data
Chu Mai seating, opened Jan. 31, 2025
Source: Sacramento Bee (Feb. 23, 2025): about 100 seats inside and about 70 on two patios.
The story of Billy Ngo
Ngo, born Buu Ngo, was born in a refugee camp in Hong Kong to parents who were ethnically Chinese natives of Vietnam. The family came to the United States when he was a baby and settled in south Sacramento, where his parents ran a Chinese restaurant near Folsom Boulevard and Power Inn Road.
He started as a busboy at Fuji, a Japanese restaurant off Broadway, while in high school, then graduated from the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco. In 2005, at 23, he opened Kru in an 1,800-square-foot space on J Street in Midtown with partner Peter Kwong.
Kru won Best of Show at the 2007 Sacramento Region Sushi Masters and was named in The Wall Street Journal’s 2015 list of six great cities for food lovers. In 2016 Kru moved to a larger home on Folsom Boulevard, financed with an SBA loan through the NDC Grow America Fund, with plans for about 27 new jobs.
From Kru, Ngo became a partner in Fish Face Poke Bar, Kodaiko Ramen & Bar, Fukuro by Kru at Sky River Casino in Elk Grove and Healthy Hounds Kitchen. On Jan. 31, 2025, he and partners Tyler Bond and Michael Ng opened Chu Mai on 17th Street, a restaurant named for his late mother.
Awards and recognition
Milestones
- Early yearsBorn in a Hong Kong refugee camp; the family settles in south Sacramento.
- High schoolBusboy at Fuji, a Japanese restaurant off Broadway.
- 2005Opens Kru on J Street in Midtown, age 23.
- 2007Best of Show, Sacramento Region Sushi Masters.
- 2015Kru named in The Wall Street Journal’s six great cities for food lovers.
- 2016Kru moves to Folsom Boulevard with an SBA loan through the NDC Grow America Fund.
- 2024James Beard semifinalist (February), then finalist (April), Best Chef: California.
- 2025Opens Chu Mai on 17th Street (Jan. 31), named for his late mother.
Companies and ventures
Lessons for business builders
- Start before you feel ready: Ngo opened Kru at 23 in a small space and grew from there.
- An SBA-backed loan can fund the move from a small first location to a bigger one.
- Partners multiply a chef: each new concept shares the work and the risk.
Sources
- Kru: About
- CapRadio: Billy Ngo of Kru a semifinalist for James Beard award (Feb. 14, 2024)
- Sacramento Bee via Yahoo: Billy Ngo’s new restaurant is a love letter to his mother (Feb. 23, 2025)
- NDC Grow America Fund: GAF assists Kru open a new, larger location (Oct. 31, 2016)
Photo: Kru Contemporary Japanese Cuisine (krurestaurant.com). Figures marked firm-reported come from the company; all others from the sources above, checked November 2026.
