San Antonio's Pinch Boil House gets debate stage shoutout from presidential candidate Andrew Yang

Pinch Boil House and Bia Bar co-founder Sean Wen. Pinch Boil House and Bia Bar co-founder Sean Wen. Photo: Courtesy Pinch Boil House And Bia Bar Photo: Courtesy Pinch Boil House And Bia Bar Image 1 of / 21 Caption Close San Antonio's Pinch Boil House gets debate stage shoutout from presidential candidate Andrew Yang 1 / 21 Back to Gallery

San Antonio's Pinch Boil House and Bia Bar got a shoutout on the democratic debate stage Thursday night from candidate Andrew Yang.

Yang, who turned heads when announcing efforts to grow and test a universal basic income (UBI) program, in which people could enter to win $1,000 per month a year, mentioned Sean Wen, co-founder of the downtown Vietnamese-Cajun spot, when speaking of Venture for America.

The candidate is the former CEO of Venture for America, a nonprofit fellowship community-based company in New York City which trains young entrepreneurs across hubs in 13 cities, including San Antonio. Wen proudly touts his status as 2014 Venture for America alum in the first line of his Twitter biography. He also credited Yang for helping him accomplish his dream of opening the restaurant, which is planning an Austin expansion.

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"Sean, I hope I made the process a little bit easier for you than it was for me," Yang told the restaurateur who was sitting in the audience in Houston.

Wen shared a clip of the mention on Twitter after the debate Thursday night.

"Not only did you make the process easier, you created an entire family of people that supported me and empowered me to do something that I have always dreamed of doing," he said online.

Wen also shared his reaction to hearing his name.

"My jaw dropped on the floor," he replied to a follower who mentioned the shoutout.

Wen and co-founder Andrew Ho opened the 124 N. Main Ave. boils and bowls business in 2017 after operating as a pop-up.

Madalyn Mendoza is a breaking news reporter and general assignment writer. Read her on our breaking news site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com | mmendoza@mysa.com | @MaddySkye