Lam got tons of facetime there - other surf brands immediately considered Wahoo’s legit due to its Billabong connection. This model lent both to Lam’s desire to meet famous athletes and wild word-of-mouth marketing exposure.Īfter that first Billabong catering event, Lam’s friend suggested he come along to the ASR trade show (opens in new tab), the biggest meetup for sports retailers at the time. The Wahoo’s empire was built largely on catering, not restaurants. Learn more about how the Lam brothers started Wahoo's (opens in new tab) in the video below. He found one for sale in a residential front yard, paid for it in cash, threw the grill in his pickup truck, and set off to start his “catering business.” in search of a homemade 55-gallon barbecue, the only kind he deemed suitable for outdoor catering. “But I figured, ‘I’ve done this at the frat house before.’ So I told Billabong, ‘Sure, I’ll set up a little taco stand for you.’” “We had never catered previously,” Lam said. The friend asked if Lam could cater a meetup for the company’s buyers.
One day, a friend of Lam’s brother - a former surf-shop manager turned Billabong exec - walked in for lunch. The Lam brothers at the first Wahoo's location in Costa Mesa, California The Lam brothers opened the first Wahoo’s (opens in new tab) strategically near the warehouse for Billabong (opens in new tab), a major surf brand, as a way to mingle with industry folk. So, when the brothers started a business together, a restaurant was the natural choice. The trio took regular surf trips to Ensenada, Mexico, where they discovered the deliciousness of fish tacos after long days in the water. Lam had grown up working in his parents’ restaurant (opens in new tab) with his brothers, Ed and Mingo Lee (opens in new tab). So instead, I looked at my own skill set.” And the odds of getting into action sports were zero. “But I couldn’t surf, not professionally at least. “I thought, ‘It’d be cool if I met these guys,’” Lam said. Before starting Wahoo’s, he dreamt of meeting world-champion surfers like Tom Curren and Kelly Slater. But another influence proved key to his company’s identity and overall success: Aside from feeding people, it turns out Lam also loves action sports (opens in new tab). It doesn’t seem to hurt business: Wahoo’s recently celebrated its 30th anniversary (opens in new tab) and plans to add five more locations (opens in new tab) this year.Ī target audience and a chance connectionĪs a fraternity brother at San Diego State University, Lam made friends by cooking tacos for girls on the frat-house porch. To this day, Lam gets industry attention for his laid-back look (opens in new tab), which usually includes board shorts, flip-flops and his long surfer’s hair flowing freely. “The main goal was to work in shorts and not have to commute,” Lam told Grow Wire of his swap from a finance job to taco-slinging after just a couple of years in the workforce. While impressive, the brand was born from his simple desire for a lifestyle change.
Wahoo’s has a major catering arm - think surf events, corporate gatherings and birthday parties – and generated over $65 million in revenue last year, according to Lam.
states (opens in new tab) and two in Japan. He’s since become the face of the empire, which now includes over 60 locations in seven U.S. Lam started Wahoo’s (opens in new tab) with his two (biological) brothers in 1988, shortly after graduating college. Wing Lam, cofounder and owner of Wahoo's Fish Taco Then, if you’re lucky, you run into Wing Lam (opens in new tab). And the windowpanes are almost completely covered with… stickers. Surfboards and skateboards hang from the ceiling, also covered in stickers. Walking into a Wahoo’s Fish Taco (opens in new tab) feels less like entering a major restaurant chain and more like stumbling into a surf shack’s chilled-out kitchen.įirst, you approach a cashier’s stand covered in stickers (opens in new tab) - surf brands like Hurley and Lost, along with skate brands and rock bands.
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