Pho D’Lite, located across from the University View, has seen steady crowds since opening, despite competition from similar local restaurants, like Pho Thom.

When an empty space in the Campus Village Shopping Center opened up a year and a half ago, Irene Song jumped at the chance to expand her empire — and to bring a Southeast Asian flair to the city.

Since opening in early July, Pho D’Lite — located doors away from co-owner Song’s original business venture, Hanami Japanese Restaurant — has tapped into the niche market of specialty restaurants in the city, serving up its own kind of Asian fare: pho, a Vietnamese noodle soup typically served with beef or chicken. The second restaurant of its kind in the city — Pho Thom opened in fall 2011 — Pho D’Lite has jumped aboard an emerging local trend.

The restaurant is among a slew of eateries specializing in unique foods, a recent fad in the city dining scene. In August, Roti Mediterranean Grill, which serves couscous, falafel and hummus, opened in one of The Varsity’s retail spaces, and ChiDogO’s, a hot dog-specialty restaurant, opened in April. But there is still a precarious outlook for local businesses — District Dumpling, which first opened its doors exactly three months ago yesterday, shuttered in the past few days. Ivy Noodles will occupy the Route 1 storefront in Pho Thom’s complex in November, according to shopcollegepark.org.

But in Pho D’Lite, the orders keep coming. A wall of tiki-style palm leaves greets customers, creating an exotic atmosphere that carries throughout the dimly lit restaurant. Rows of black tables line the main entryway.

The restaurant specializes in a specific kind of cold noodle, called vermicelli, usually served with pork, shrimp, chicken or beef, according to Song. Most dishes cost about $8.

Consistency and customer service are main reasons the restaurant is thriving, said co-owner Jim Geisler, who oversees Pho D’Lite as a partnership between Song and several others.

“Pho D’Lite has been focused on customer satisfaction and the creation of product consistency that will keep our customers coming back,” Geisler wrote in an email. “Based on total sales, it appears to be working.”

The store has seen steady crowds since opening, which could be due to its prime location near The Varsity and University View apartment buildings, according to Economic Coordinator Michael Stiefvater.

“Both times I’ve been in there, it’s been reasonably crowded. … They’re doing pretty well,” he said. “They’re in a well-known shopping center that has a lot of other well-known businesses.”

Song’s original success with Hanami and longtime experience in the city inspired her to open a second restaurant, Stiefvater said.

“She knows the area and has been doing well with Hanami, so I think she saw an opportunity, and space popped up in the same shopping center,” Stiefvater said. “It’s easy to manage two shops in the same shopping center.”

Fishnet restaurant owner Ferhat Yelcin will also own two businesses in the same shopping center when he opens a coffee shop on Berwyn Road later this year or early in 2013.

Song’s two-store foothold could help her in the long run, said freshman journalism major Amy Dion.

“She is her own competition, so either way, she’s making money.”

For others, pho is not an exotic dish but a cuisine reminiscent of the familiar.

“The taste is similar to food from home,” said first-year graduate student Cheng Zhao, who grew up in China. Zhao added, “This food is more delicious than Shanghai [Tokyo Cafe].”

Geisler said the team of restaurateurs may open a third local establishment, hoping to continue following the same business model that’s led them to success.

“College Park wants great food and healthy food at reasonable prices,” Geisler said. “We want to continue to be the mainstay of College Park.”