![]() ![]() Wahoo's also built a strong youth following by naming a local "athlete of the week" and sponsoring a meal, which would inevitably be attended by the athlete's friends. Similar strategies were used to build support in other "extreme" sports communities such as snowboarding, rock climbing, and cycling. Wahoo's would cater corporate events for surf apparel companies and local surf contests to build word-of-mouth for its fish tacos. Marketing įrom the outset, Wahoo's has targeted the surfing community by offering affordable prices and eclectic decor, which uses stickers and surfing equipment inside the restaurant. To date, the Love Drop has delivered over 11,000 meals. On April 12, 2020, Wahoo's delivered 300 meals to an Irvine hospital as part of California Love Drop, a collaboration between Lam and numerous partners to deliver meals to frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. By Wahoo's 25-year anniversary in 2013, they had 64 restaurants in seven states, and would later that year go on to open Wahoo's first international restaurant in Tokyo, Japan. ![]() In 2009, Wahoo's announced plans to add 100 franchise locations by 2014, but those plans have slowed. Wahoo's has since expanded across California and has opened locations in Colorado, Hawaii, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey & Pennsylvania. By 2005, Wahoo's had 36 locations, including the original Costa Mesa restaurant. In 2001, Wahoo's had 22 locations and announced plans to open 40 more by 2006. The Wahoo's that opened in Manhattan Beach in 1998 was the first Wahoo's in California outside Orange County. By late 1995, Wahoo's had six locations in total, five in Orange County, California and one in Denver, Colorado. The business permit for the fourth location in Huntington Beach, was delayed over a city code requirement to pay for 12 spaces in the city-owned Main Street parking garage, and an additional location was opened in Lake Forest in May 1994. Expansion Wahoo's also operates a food truck in Hawaii.īy 1994, Wahoo's had opened two additional locations, one each in Costa Mesa and Laguna Beach. The three brothers are still involved with the company, with Wing Lam acting as the public face of the company, working in public relations and marketing. The corporate headquarters are in Santa Ana, California. Steve Karfaridis, the first manager of Wahoo's second location, in Laguna Beach, is now a partner in the business. The first restaurant was funded in part with US$30,000 the brothers received from their parents after selling Shanghai Pine Gardens. Wing Lam recounted in 2011 that "back in the day, I took your order, ran to the kitchen, made it and delivered it to your table." The three brothers remain involved in daily operations, with Wing Lam staffing the chain's California-based food truck. The three brothers (youngest of the five sons) were the main restaurant employees. The first Wahoo's Fish Taco restaurant, located at 1862 Placentia Avenue in Costa Mesa, opened in November 1988, serving Baja California-style fish tacos. Based on their experience working long hours at Shanghai Pine Gardens, the parents insisted that their five children should study medicine, law, or engineering the eldest brother went to law school, the second brother studied medicine, and the third brother (Wing Lam) attended San Diego State University, initially studying engineering, but switching to finance after being placed on academic probation. Their father, Cheong Lee, and the eldest brother came to the United States in 1964, and the rest of the family arrived in 1975, opening the Shanghai Pine Gardens restaurant on Balboa Island. Their parents had fled to Brazil in the 1950s following the conclusion of the Chinese Civil War, and settled in São Paulo, opening a Chinese restaurant their five sons were all born in Brazil. Wahoo's was founded in Costa Mesa, California, in 1988 by Chinese- Brazilian brothers Eduardo "Ed" Lee, Renato "Mingo" Lee and Wing Lam, who mixed traditional Chinese and Brazilian flavors with dishes they encountered while traveling in Mexico. History Wahoo's Fish Taco sign in Orange, California They serve wahoo fish in their tacos, as well as Mahi-mahi. ![]() Wahoo's provides many vegetarian and some vegan options, such as tofu, banzai veggies and brown rice, and also provides a kids' meal menu. Categorized as a " fast casual restaurant", the quality and preparation time of its food is between that of a fast-food restaurant and a more formal restaurant. Wahoo's Fish Taco is a U.S.-based restaurant chain that offers Mexican food mixed with Brazilian and Asian flavors. ![]()
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