Vivian Kong Doctora ’96 thrives on starting new ventures and connecting with people wherever she goes.
A successful entrepreneur, the Illinois State alum runs Bao Destination, has a realtor’s license, authored a children’s book, and co-created community events like Beyond Social cooking classes and the Young Entrepreneur Market.
Despite moving away from Bloomington-Normal after graduating with her bachelor’s degree in business administration, Kong Doctora gravitated back to Illinois State’s hometown three separate times. Having lived in Hong Kong, California, and Virginia, she’s been back in Bloomington since 2013 and has deeply invested in the community she calls home.
“I want my kids to grow up in a community where people feel empowered to do something on their own,” said Kong Doctora. “The more we build and create a community, the more people are going to come, and the town is going to continue to flourish.”
One of the ways Kong Doctora connects with the community is through Bao Destination, a steam bun business that sells take-home bao packs that can be found in local grocery stores and at the Downtown Bloomington Farmers’ Market.
Inspired by a visit to the Anaheim Packing District in California, she decided to try creating a similar food hall venue in Bloomington where she could have her own stall featuring bao. Although that venture fell through, her idea to create a bao business remained.
“In a way, it was sort of a blessing in disguise,” said Kong Doctora. “I had been wanting to be an entrepreneur for a while, and I thought, ‘If I’m going to open a food hall and someone is going to trust me to help build a business, I need to understand how to run a food business.’ So, I started making steamed bao at home.”
By putting her own twist on her mother’s steam bun recipe, Kong Doctora started to create bao for her family.
“My mom loves to cook,” said Kong Doctora. “But her process is lengthy, so everyone is very involved when she makes bao. It’s a great time to get together as a family. During the pandemic, everyone was making sourdough bread, and I couldn’t seem to make that work, so I decided to make bao instead.”
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Kong Doctora grew up in an area where you could walk down the street and purchase bao from vendors, but it wasn’t the same as her mother’s bao. For Kong Doctora, recreating memories in the kitchen with her own kids has been incredibly special, and her twins can’t get enough of it.
“My kids love rolling the dough and they love eating it, too,” said Kong Doctora.
Eventually, she decided to sell her creations, so she left her job at State Farm of 21 years, secured a ghost kitchen at the Park Regency Hotel, and began a pickup and delivery service. She expanded her offerings into frozen take-home packs.
Kong Doctora is also working on a partnership for Bao Destination with Kobe Japanese Steak House to open a revolving sushi restaurant in October. The restaurant would deliver plates of Kong Doctora’s bao, sushi, and other food items to customers on a conveyor belt track that winds its way between tables.
“Food is the way to connect people,” said Kong Doctora. “Sometimes, eating something prompts you to ask questions about the origins of the foods or about their personal cultures. That’s why I created Bao Destination.”
Beyond Social was inspired by the same idea of connecting and learning.
“We wanted to create something fun for people to engage, connect, and learn,” said Kong Doctora. “I love to cook, and I like to share my culture with others, so we decided to start Beyond Social, a participation cooking class.”
Her daughter was the inspiration behind the Young Entrepreneur Market. When Kong Doctora started selling bao at the farmers’ market, her daughter began making jewelry to sell, too. Seeing her daughter learn how to interact with customers and talk about her products sparked the idea to create a similar space for other young entrepreneurs.
Partnering with CO+LAB (Community Lab, LLC), the inaugural Young Entrepreneur Market last year garnered 26 participants and more than doubled this year to 55 young entrepreneurs. In addition to having the opportunity to sell their products this year, participants could enter a pitch competition for a $250 cash prize, take online workshops about relevant topics like branding, marketing, and financial management, and hear from experts about how to build a business and be a successful entrepreneur.
“It’s a platform to give young entrepreneurs an opportunity to sell their product, showcase their talents, and really learn a little bit about being an entrepreneur,” said Kong Doctora.
Connecting people through shared experiences is not new for Kong Doctora. While at Illinois State, Kong Doctora became one of the founding members of the Asian Pacific American Coalition (APAC). She and her friend group decided to create an organization where they could socialize more often, participate in activities together, and help share the message of Asian Americans with campus.
“My sister Eleanor, myself, and a lot of our friends started APAC,” said Kong Doctora. “I was glad to see that APAC is still alive and well on campus. I was really pleased to see that they’re still continuing the mission of why we created APAC.”
Kong Doctora met a lot of people at Illinois State who she keeps in touch with today, including the friends she made through APAC.
“ISU allowed me to just meet a lot of great people and still have that connection that I have with them today,” said Kong Doctora.
