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T.D. Tran, also known as Thuy Dan Tran, is the Yelp Community Director for the San Gabriel Valley, where she helps connect people, spotlight local businesses, and celebrate the depth and diversity of SGV. She has become a recognizable force in the region through community building, local partnerships, and curated experiences that bring residents and business owners together in meaningful ways. Yelp’s own community coverage credits TD with leading SGV focused events and local features, while outside profiles highlight her passion for helping people discover what makes a community feel alive.

In this conversation, TD shares how her path into community work was shaped by her upbringing as a first generation Vietnamese American raised in Wisconsin. In an interview profile, she explains that community programs played a major role in her childhood and helped shape her understanding of support, belonging, and opportunity. She also points to her family’s restaurant roots and her love for gathering people as key influences behind the work she does today.

A major part of TD’s impact in the San Gabriel Valley has been her leadership within Yelp’s local ecosystem. Public coverage shows her tied to SGV food and culture features, local campaigns, and business centered events, while a 2023 event listing identified her as Yelp’s Senior Community Manager for San Gabriel Valley. Those roles reflect the same core mission: creating visibility for small businesses, building trust with locals, and making it easier for people to engage with the region in a more personal way.

This episode is for anyone interested in community building, local business support, event production, food culture, and the stories that shape the San Gabriel Valley. TD Tran brings a thoughtful perspective on what it means to build real connections, champion neighborhood identity, and create spaces where people feel seen, welcomed, and inspired to participate.

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Music Credits

Intro
Euphoria in the San Gabriel Valley, Yone OG

Stinger
Scarlet Fire (Sting), Otis McDonald, YouTube Audio Library

Outro
Euphoria in the San Gabriel Valley, Yone OG

__________________

My SGV Podcast:

Website: www.mysgv.net
Newsletter: Beyond the Mic
Patreon: MySGV Podcast
info@sgvmasterkey.com

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Sandra Y. Gomez is the co-owner of Moffett's Chicken Pie Shoppe, a beloved San Gabriel Valley restaurant with over 50 years of history in the community. A Baldwin Park native and graduate of Baldwin Park High School, Sandra brings a background in Human Resources from her time at Alhambra Unified School District to her role running the family business. In 2024, she made the decision to step away from her HR career to focus on the restaurant full time alongside her husband and family.

In this episode, Sandra shares the story behind Moffett's deep roots in the SGV, what it's been like to take on ownership without prior restaurant experience, and how her HR background shaped the way she leads her team and serves her guests. She opens up about the sacrifices her family made along the way, the role faith and culture have played in her life, and what it means to carry forward a legacy that spans generations.

This conversation is for anyone in the San Gabriel Valley who has walked through the doors of Moffett's, and for anyone who has ever taken on something bigger than themselves out of love for family. Sandra's story reflects the kind of quiet, committed work that keeps community institutions alive — and it's a reminder of how much local businesses mean to the neighborhoods they've served for decades.

If this episode resonated with you, subscribe to the MySGV Podcast so you never miss a story from the community. Share this one with someone who loves the SGV or knows what it means to carry on a family tradition.

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Music Credits

Intro
Euphoria in the San Gabriel Valley, Yone OG

Stinger
Scarlet Fire (Sting), Otis McDonald, YouTube Audio Library

Outro
Euphoria in the San Gabriel Valley, Yone OG

__________________

My SGV Podcast:

Website: www.mysgv.net
Newsletter: Beyond the Mic
Patreon: MySGV Podcast
info@sgvmasterkey.com

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Yamato Miura is a Tokyo born entrepreneur and restaurateur whose path to hospitality has been anything but ordinary. Before building one of the most respected Japanese restaurant groups in Southern California, he moved alone to the United States as a teenager, trained in performance and action work, and later competed in kickboxing. That background of discipline, risk, and precision now shows up in the way he builds restaurants, brands, and guest experiences.

In this conversation, Yamato shares how his early life in Japan, his family’s deep roots in the performing arts, and his years in combat sports shaped the way he thinks about excellence, presentation, and resilience. He also talks about his entrepreneurial journey, including launching Bun Geiz Corporation and growing from ramen and izakaya concepts into a hospitality group known for serious craftsmanship and a clear point of view. Bun Geiz now includes concepts such as DTLA Ramen, Izakaya Tonchinkan, Sushi Kisen, Miura Beverly Hills, Sushidokoro Miyama, and Sumibi Yakitori Kidori.

A major part of Yamato’s story is Sushi Kisen in Arcadia, which presents itself as Arcadia’s first Edomae style sushi restaurant and has earned recognition from both the Michelin Guide and the Los Angeles Times. His Beverly Hills project, formerly known as Sushi Yamamoto and now operating as Miura, continues that pursuit of high level Japanese dining with an intimate omakase experience rooted in Edomae sushi, kaiseki, and seasonality.

This episode is for anyone interested in Japanese food culture, restaurant ownership, entrepreneurship, branding, and the mindset required to build something lasting. Yamato Miura’s story brings together Tokyo tradition, Los Angeles hospitality, martial discipline, and a relentless commitment to authenticity.
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Music Credits

Intro
Euphoria in the San Gabriel Valley, Yone OG

Stinger
Scarlet Fire (Sting), Otis McDonald, YouTube Audio Library

Outro
Euphoria in the San Gabriel Valley, Yone OG

__________________

My SGV Podcast:

Website: www.mysgv.net
Newsletter: Beyond the Mic
Patreon: MySGV Podcast
info@sgvmasterkey.com

Send a text

Anthony Ma is an award winning actor, filmmaker, and voiceover artist from Arcadia, California whose career spans television, film, animation, dubbing, and directing. On screen, he has appeared in series including Scandal, S.W.A.T., This Is Us, Mom, Dear White People, NCIS: LA, The Mentalist, Castle, Shameless, and more. Beyond acting, he has built an impressive voice career across animation, Korean and Japanese dubbing, video games, and audio dramas.

In this conversation, Anthony shares the journey behind his work as a storyteller and creative whose mission goes beyond performance. His voice credits include Blue Eye Samurai, Her Blue Sky, Marry My Husband, Bloodhounds, Pachinko, and First Love, showing the range and adaptability that have made him a sought after talent across multiple mediums. As a filmmaker, he also wrote and produced Chinese Antique, created the feature Elevator, and was part of Staycation, which premiered at the final LA Film Festival and received the LA Muse Fiction Award.

A major focus of this episode is Anthony’s directorial debut short, God & Buddha Are Friends, a film inspired by childhood experience that explores faith, family, culture, and identity through a distinctly San Gabriel Valley lens. The short won Best Narrative Short and Best Short Screenplay at the Studio City International Film Festival and also screened at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, CAAM Fest, and HAAPIFEST.

Anthony also talks about community, representation, and his work co founding and leading the Taiwanese American Film Festival from 2017 to 2019. At the heart of everything he does is a desire to tell bold, human stories about the many layers of Asian American life, with honesty, depth, and humor. This episode is for anyone interested in acting, filmmaking, voiceover, Asian American storytelling, and what it takes to build a creative life with purpose.

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Music Credits

Intro
Euphoria in the San Gabriel Valley, Yone OG

Stinger
Scarlet Fire (Sting), Otis McDonald, YouTube Audio Library

Outro
Euphoria in the San Gabriel Valley, Yone OG

__________________

My SGV Podcast:

Website: www.mysgv.net
Newsletter: Beyond the Mic
Patreon: MySGV Podcast
info@sgvmasterkey.com

Send a text

On this episode of the MySGV Podcast, I sit down with a Temple City raised creative who turned a lifelong love of food and travel into a full time career behind the camera and on the page. We talk about how growing up in the San Gabriel Valley shaped his palate, his point of view, and the way he tells stories that feel both personal and cinematic.

He shares the pivot from advertising art direction and digital design into commercial and editorial work centered on food, travel, cocktails, portraiture, interiors, and lifestyle. We get into what it actually looks like to bet on your taste, build a portfolio, and keep showing up until your work starts landing in the rooms you once only studied from the outside.

This conversation also goes deeper than gigs and gear. We talk about Cantonese Chinese and Laotian heritage, identity, and how culture shows up in the dishes we crave and the memories we chase. His work has earned recognition from the James Beard Foundation in both photography and writing, and his images and stories have appeared in major publications across food and travel media.

If you love the SGV, care about craft, or you are considering your own leap into a creative career, this episode will hit. Watch the full interview, then check out his work and writing, and follow along on Instagram at @dylanjho

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Music Credits

Intro
Euphoria in the San Gabriel Valley, Yone OG

Stinger
Scarlet Fire (Sting), Otis McDonald, YouTube Audio Library

Outro
Euphoria in the San Gabriel Valley, Yone OG

__________________

My SGV Podcast:

Website: www.mysgv.net
Newsletter: Beyond the Mic
Patreon: MySGV Podcast
info@sgvmasterkey.com

Send a text

Deja Fabro brings big energy, sharp observations, and fearless vulnerability to this episode of the MySGV Podcast. She is a stand up comedian and expressive storyteller who uses self deprecating humor to talk about mental health, infertility, everyday struggles, and the weird little moments of modern life that somehow hit all of us at once. If you love comedy that makes you laugh and think, this conversation delivers.

In our long form interview, we get into Deja’s journey back to the spotlight and why stand up finally became the path in January 2024. She shares how five years of infertility and a major surgery reshaped her life, and how writing and humor helped her survive a season that felt heavy and isolating. Her gift is the way she can make space for the hard stuff while still keeping it human, relatable, and genuinely funny.

Deja performs across Southern California from Los Angeles to San Diego, and she is a regular at the legendary Ice House in Pasadena, one of America’s longest running comedy clubs and a true San Gabriel Valley staple. We also talk about what it takes to build confidence on stage, how she crafts material from real life, and how comedy can be both a release and a form of hope.

Watch this full episode if you want an honest conversation about chasing the dream, finding your voice, and turning pain into purpose without losing your sense of humor. Follow Deja on Instagram at @deja.giggles and stay connected with the MySGV Podcast for more long form stories from the San Gabriel Valley.

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Music Credits

Intro
Euphoria in the San Gabriel Valley, Yone OG

Stinger
Scarlet Fire (Sting), Otis McDonald, YouTube Audio Library

Outro
Euphoria in the San Gabriel Valley, Yone OG

__________________

My SGV Podcast:

Website: www.mysgv.net
Newsletter: Beyond the Mic
Patreon: MySGV Podcast
info@sgvmasterkey.com

Send a text

In this episode, I sit down with David Marquez, a San Gabriel Valley native who grew up in San Gabriel and built a career around the thing he has always loved most, food. We talk about how the SGV shaped his palate, why Los Angeles is one of the best food cities in the world, and how travel and culture keep pushing his curiosity.

David shares his path from more than 15 years in digital marketing to betting on himself after losing his long time job in 2015. That career shakeup led to GoldeLineLA, his Instagram blog that started by spotlighting restaurants and bars along the Gold Line route and eventually opened doors to deeper work with small businesses in the LA food scene.

We also get into the pivot that changed everything. In 2023 he finally stepped in front of the camera to create food videos, his audience took off, and in 2024 he made the leap to become a full time food content creator. David talks about building momentum, creating consistent content, and what it is like collaborating with major brands while still staying true to his voice.

On top of all that, David is a husband and a proud dad of twin boys, and he shares how fatherhood, fitness, and real life priorities shape how he works and why he creates.

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Music Credits

Intro
Euphoria in the San Gabriel Valley, Yone OG

Stinger
Scarlet Fire (Sting), Otis McDonald, YouTube Audio Library

Outro
Euphoria in the San Gabriel Valley, Yone OG

__________________

My SGV Podcast:

Website: www.mysgv.net
Newsletter: Beyond the Mic
Patreon: MySGV Podcast
info@sgvmasterkey.com

Send a text

In this episode, I sit down with Thomas Liu, an entrepreneur whose story includes the messy parts people usually skip. He talks openly about growing up bouncing between schools, dealing with bullying and identity struggles, and how he made wrong turns that eventually forced him to look in the mirror and decide who he wanted to become.

Thomas walks me through the shift from chaos to clarity and what it looked like to scrape through graduation, put himself through college, and start building something real. Alongside his wife Jasmine, he launched his first boba business, BYOB A Boba Co., while still in school, and he shares the pressure and purpose behind betting on yourself before you feel ready.

We also get into the businesses that followed, including Loose Leaf, And Broth, and Gold Banh, and why storytelling, culture, and real ingredients matter to him. Thomas breaks down how his brands evolved and how he thinks about building a team, building a product, and building a reputation in a crowded space.

Now as a husband and father of two, Thomas reflects on accountability and what it means to show up differently, not just for business, but for family and self respect. This conversation is about growth, ownership, and staying real about the journey.

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Music Credits

Intro
Euphoria in the San Gabriel Valley, Yone OG

Stinger
Scarlet Fire (Sting), Otis McDonald, YouTube Audio Library

Outro
Euphoria in the San Gabriel Valley, Yone OG

__________________

My SGV Podcast:

Website: www.mysgv.net
Newsletter: Beyond the Mic
Patreon: MySGV Podcast
info@sgvmasterkey.com