Wahoo's Fish Taco facts for kids
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| Private | |
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Founded | Costa Mesa, California (1988) |
| Founder | Eduardo Lee, Mingo Lee and Wing Lam |
| Headquarters | 1185 Warner Avenue, , |
Wahoo's Fish Taco is a popular restaurant chain in the United States. It serves a unique mix of Mexican food with flavors from Brazil and Asia. This restaurant is known as "fast casual." This means its food is quicker than a fancy restaurant but better quality than typical fast food.
Wahoo's offers many choices for everyone. They have lots of vegetarian options. They also have some vegan dishes, like tofu and brown rice. There is even a special menu just for kids! The restaurant serves tasty fish like wahoo and Mahi-mahi in their tacos.
Contents
The Story of Wahoo's
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Wahoo's was started in Costa Mesa, California in 1988. Three brothers, Eduardo "Ed" Lee, Renato "Mingo" Lee, and Wing Lam, founded it. They were Chinese-Brazilian and loved to mix flavors. They combined traditional Chinese and Brazilian tastes with dishes they found while traveling in Mexico.
Their parents had moved to Brazil in the 1950s. They opened a Chinese restaurant there. Later, the family moved to the United States in 1975. They opened another restaurant called Shanghai Pine Gardens. The parents wanted their five sons to study important jobs like medicine or law. Wing Lam, one of the founders, first studied engineering. He later switched to finance.
Opening the First Restaurant
The very first Wahoo's Fish Taco opened in November 1988. It was in Costa Mesa, California. They served fish tacos in the style of Baja California. The three youngest brothers worked hard at the restaurant. Wing Lam once said he would take orders, cook, and serve the food himself!
The brothers are still involved in the business today. Wing Lam even works on the chain's food truck in California. The first restaurant was started with about $30,000. This money came from their parents after they sold Shanghai Pine Gardens.
Steve Karfaridis was the first manager of the second Wahoo's location. Now, he is a partner in the company. The main office for Wahoo's is in Santa Ana, California. Wing Lam is often the public face of the company. He helps with public relations and marketing. By 2011, the company was making over $60 million in sales each year.
Growing the Business
Wahoo's grew quickly after it started. By 1994, they had opened two more restaurants. One was in Costa Mesa and another in Laguna Beach, California. They faced a small delay for a new location in Huntington Beach, California. But they opened another in Lake Forest, California in May 1994.
By late 1995, Wahoo's had six locations. Five were in Orange County, California. One was in Denver, Colorado. In 1998, the first Wahoo's outside Orange County opened in Manhattan Beach. By 2001, there were 22 locations. They planned to open 40 more by 2006. By 2005, Wahoo's had 36 restaurants.
Wahoo's has continued to expand. You can find their restaurants all over California. They also have locations in Colorado, Hawaii, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. In 2013, Wahoo's celebrated 25 years. They had 64 restaurants in seven different states. Later that year, they opened their first international restaurant in Tokyo, Japan.
Helping the Community
California Love Drop
On April 12, 2020, Wahoo's helped their community. They delivered 300 meals to a hospital in Irvine. This was part of a project called California Love Drop. Wing Lam and many partners started this project. They wanted to deliver meals to healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. So far, the Love Drop has given out over 11,000 meals.
How Wahoo's Attracts Customers
From the very beginning, Wahoo's aimed to attract people who love surfing. They offered good prices and a cool, unique style inside their restaurants. The decor often includes stickers and surfing gear. Wahoo's would also provide food for events held by surf clothing companies. They also catered local surf contests. This helped spread the word about their fish tacos.
They used similar ways to get support from other "extreme" sports. These included snowboarding, rock climbing, and cycling. Wahoo's also became popular with young people. They would name a local "athlete of the week." This athlete would get a free meal. Their friends would often come along too.
The Wahoo's Fish Taco Idea
Wing Lam remembered the fish tacos sold by street vendors in Baja California. These tacos often used fish that was caught by accident. The vendors would slice the fish, deep fry it, and sell it cheaply. They added cabbage and tomatoes. While in college, Lam thought about making similar fish tacos for people in America.
Wahoo's made their fish tacos a bit different. They prepared them like his family would. This meant grilling the meat instead of frying it. They also made beans without lard or bacon fat. This offered healthier choices. They also had vegetarian and vegan options. This focus on "fresh" Mexican food was popular. Wahoo's was also one of the first to mix Asian and taco flavors.
When new Wahoo's opened in Orange County, word-of-mouth was enough. But when they expanded to Manhattan Beach, California, they used newspaper ads. They also advertised in local schools.
Images for kids
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Neon sign for a Wahoo's Fish Taco in Austin, Texas that is now closed.
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The order counter, showing the restaurant's sticker decorations.
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Decorations include equipment bolted to the walls.
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Baja-style fish tacos.
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A Wahoo's lunch truck in Hawaii.
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