Making Waves
For the brothers who made the fish taco a million-dollar industry, it's all relative.
Vital Stats:
Co-founders Mingo Lee, 35; Wing Lam, 43; and Ed Lee, 40, of
Wahoo's Fish
Taco
Company:
Casual eatery offering Mexican food with a hint of
Chinese/Brazilian flavors
2004 Projected
Sales: More than $35 million
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Meal Ticket:
When their parents sold their Chinese restaurant in 1988, these
brothers were offered an enticing challenge: Take $30,000, and
start a business together.
Home Cooking:
Moving to Costa Mesa, California, in 1975, the Brazilian-raised
Chinese brothers set out to create a menu that would fuse their
backgrounds with the Mexican fare introduced to them in Southern
California. The result: a signature plate of charbroiled fish
tacos, whole black beans and white rice, along with recipes
gathered from family and friends.
"It
wasn't meant to be a trendy place. Black beans with white
rice-they're just staples in Brazil."
Local Motion:
Their first store, in Costa Mesa, California, was on a street
inhabited by surf apparel giants like Billabong, Quiksilver and Rip
Curl. The surfing industry's ardor for the healthy and unique
cuisine generated buzz, creating a "cool factor" that
drew admirers from outside the surfing realm. The surfers are also
credited with creating Wahoo's trademark décor-what began
as a quasi turf war, with surfers slapping stickers from their
brands on the restaurant's walls, became a tradition.
On the Road:
With 35 locations (10 are franchised), mostly in Southern
California, Wahoo's also hopes to find homes in locales like
Arizona, Hawaii and Las Vegas.