Riel’s Mechelle Tran shares path from Vietnam to Houston restaurant industry

Mechelle Tran came to the Houston area by happenstance. 

Tran, a Vietnamese refugee, left the country with her parents shortly after the Vietnam War. From there, her family’s boat was attacked by pirates before they ended up in a refugee camp in the Philippines for several years. A family in Houston sponsored the Tran family through a Catholic church, leading Tran to the United States. 

Tran is now the co-owner of Riel, a modern pancontinental restaurant that blends Gulf Coast, Eastern European…