LUVERNE — Long before Saksady “Scotty” Xaisongkham was serving sticky rice, egg rolls and wontons from a food truck at community events, he was a young man trying to find his place in a new country.
Their passion was cooking for the community, so we kind of put two and two together.
CJ Xaisongkham
Xaisongkham was 20 years old when he arrived in the United States in 1979. He was forced to leave his home country of Laos after spending time in a refugee camp in Thailand.
He arrived in Minot, North Dakota, where Wayne and Kathy Holdeman sponsored him and helped him begin building a new life.
Nearly five decades later, Xaisongkham is retired, living near Magnolia with his wife, Chansay, and surrounded by children and grandchildren. His family has become part of the fabric of southwest Minnesota, and his passion for cooking has grown into Scotty’s Xpress, a family-run food business that appears at community celebrations and events throughout the area.
But the Xaisongkham story is about more than a business. It is a story about family, community, culture, hard work and the people who helped make Luverne feel like home.
For Xaisongkham, it is also a story about what it means to live the American Dream.
Xaisongkham grew up in Pakse, the capital of Champasak province in southern Laos.
His family’s history was intertwined with the Vietnam War. He said his father and two brothers served in the military in Laos, and Xaisongkham himself received military training when he was young.
“Americans used my country for a military base to train to fight Vietnam,” Xaisongkham said.
After the communist takeover of Laos in 1975, Xaisongkham said he and other members of his military group fled the country for Thailand. He eventually spent time in a refugee camp before coming to the United States.
He arrived in Minot not knowing anyone.
His sponsors provided him with a home and helped him adjust to life in the United States. Xaisongkham said they treated him as part of their family.
He had not learned English before arriving, but he quickly began working to catch up.
He attended a GED program and within about six months he had learned enough English to continue his education, he shared. He went on to attend Minot State College, where he studied computer science for two years.
“I didn’t want Wayne and Kathy to take care of me my whole life,” Xaisongkham said. “I was already 20 years old, so I moved out to try to get a job and go to school.”
His first job was at a Chinese restaurant near the college. He worked with pork and learned how to cook, unknowingly picking up skills that would become important decades later.
“I felt good about it,” Xaisongkham said. “That’s how I learn how to cook.”
He also played soccer for the Minot Air Force Base soccer club. It is where another important chapter of his life began.
While traveling with the soccer team for a tournament in Illinois, Xaisongkham injured his ankle. His future wife, Chansay, happened to be working at a food stand at the soccer tournament and helped him get to a hospital.
Chansay (left) and Saksady Xaisongkham met in Illinois, but both are originally from Laos.
Contributed / Scotty’s Xpress
Like Xaisongkham, she had arrived in the United States from Laos as a refugee and was living in Illinois with her family.
The two discovered they shared a common background. Xaisongkham said they married soon afterward.
The couple eventually had four children. Their first two daughters, Kimberly and Karrie, were born in Illinois before the family moved to southwest Minnesota in 1990. Their sons, CJ and BG, were born after the family settled in the area.
For Xaisongkham, raising his children became one of the most important parts of his American journey. He wanted to provide his children with opportunities and encourage them to pursue their own goals.
“I’m very happy,” he said. “This was my dream.”
He worked hard to provide for his family, finding jobs at the IBP plant in Luverne and later at JBS in Worthington before moving on to work at Rosenboom Machine and Tool in Sheldon, Iowa.
During this time, he became increasingly involved in his community.
Building a new life in southwest Minnesota came with challenges, particularly as the family adjusted to a new language and culture.
But the Xaisongkhams were not alone. People in Luverne helped the family establish roots and, over time, became part of their extended family.
Longtime Luverne residents Grandma Julie Schuur, and Evan and Twila VerSteeg were among the people who welcomed the family, helped guide them and embraced their culture.
That support became an important part of the family’s experience in Luverne.
For the Xaisongkhams, community was not simply about having a place to live. It was about feeling like they belonged.
CJ remembers growing up as a second-language student and receiving help from people in the community, including ESL teacher Al Brinkman.
“Growing up in Luverne as a second-language student, it was definitely hard,” CJ said. “But at the end of the day, Luverne was our home.”
The family also shared its culture with the community, including through food and the Lao traditions that remained important to them.
Xaisongkham became involved in the local Lao community, including the Lao Temple Siribuddharam in Worthington, and served as its president beginning in 2011. He spent years helping with projects at the temple and volunteering his time, including preparing and serving food for community events.
“He was a pretty big part of the community,” CJ said. “Working and building the Lao community, and he would volunteer to serve the community with food.”
For Xaisongkham, helping others was simply part of being a community member. That spirit of giving back eventually became part of the family business.
Xaisongkham’s children eventually followed a path of their own. Kimberly became a surgical technologist and founded Unstoppable Scrub, focusing on education and mentorship. Karrie works as an IT communications specialist, with a focus on communication, collaboration and creating engaging IT content. CJ is a systems administrator with 13 years of experience in IT infrastructure, AI automation, network and software configuration and support, and help desk management. BG is the founder and CEO of Only Solutions Group, specializing in websites, branding, AI automation, customer relationship management and business solutions.
CJ (left), Karrie, Kimberly and BG (right) are the children of Chansay and Saksady Xaisongkham, and they help with their family’s business, Scotty’s Xpress.
Contributed / Scotty’s Xpress
For Xaisongkham, seeing his children establish their own careers is one of the clearest signs of how far his family has come. In that way, the American Dream he envisioned for his family has continued into another generation.
Cooking keeps the family together. Xaisongkham and Chansay had long done catering for small parties and weddings. After they retired, the family began looking for a way to turn that passion into something they could continue doing together.
“He was retired, and my mom retired as well, and they wanted something to do,” CJ said. “Their passion was cooking for the community, so we kind of put two and two together.”
That combination of circumstances eventually became Scotty’s Xpress.
The business officially began around 2022 with a small trailer. The original idea was relatively simple: sell egg rolls and wontons, but Xaisongkham saw more possibilities.
The menu expanded to include items such as fried rice, sticky rice, pork and chicken kebabs, papaya salad and other Lao-inspired foods.
The name of the business came from Xaisongkham himself. His given name is Saksady, but friends and members of the community know him as Scotty. His family name begins with an X, which helped inspire the shortened “Scotty’s Xpress” name.
The business is not a traditional everyday food truck. Instead, the family focuses on larger community events, including Worthington’s International Festival and King Turkey Day, as well as events in Luverne and surrounding communities.
CJ said the family enjoys bringing food to people while also sharing their culture. The menu includes familiar festival fare alongside food inspired by their Lao heritage, with sauces and flavors that are prepared by the family.
“It’s all family-run,” CJ said.
Left to Right: CJ, Jae (grandson), Josie (daughter-in-law), Chansay, Kimberly, Scotty, Keegan (grandson), BG, Chance (grandson), Jaxon (grandson), Karrie, Antonio (son-in-law) and Alejandro (grandson).
Contributed / Scotty’s Xpress
Friends sometimes help, but the business is primarily a family operation.
The Xaisongkhams said support from the community is one of the most rewarding parts of the business.
CJ said Scotty’s Xpress is continuously invited back to events, with people sometimes reaching out to make sure the family knows they are wanted.
That support has encouraged the family to keep going.
“There are always ups and downs with businesses,” CJ said. “The weather is not always cooperating. During the last Turkey Day, it was raining both days, so to be honest we didn’t expect a lot, but we got more than what we expected with the community coming out and supporting.”
“It’s always overwhelming love and support,” he said. “Of course it kind of goes both ways. We appreciate the community as well.”
While Scotty’s Xpress may be known for its food, the cuisine is only part of the experience. The family often has music playing while they work, creating an atmosphere that CJ said is just as important as what comes out of the kitchen.
“It’s kind of like a win-win — entertainment and food and service,” he said.
The business is another way for the family to connect with the community that helped them establish roots decades ago.
Xaisongkham’s journey is not finished. He and Chansay still have family in Laos, including Xaisongkham’s younger brother and Chansay’s elderly father, and they are planning a return visit to Laos. It will be Xaisongkham’s third trip back since leaving the country as a refugee.
Nearly five decades after leaving Laos, he remains connected to the country where his story began.
At the same time, the family has spent more than three decades building its own story in Luverne.
Through hard work and help along the way, the Xaisongkhams have built a life that stretches across generations and continents.
For Xaisongkham, that is what the American Dream looks like.
So when Scotty’s Xpress rolls into a local festival, the food served from the trailer carries more than a family name. It carries a piece of where the family came from and a story about where they built their home.
Dining and Cooking