{"id":8906,"date":"2025-02-11T09:15:01","date_gmt":"2025-02-11T09:15:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.restroworks.com\/blog\/?p=8906"},"modified":"2025-02-11T09:15:03","modified_gmt":"2025-02-11T09:15:03","slug":"wing-lam-on-the-secret-sauce-behind-wahoos-fish-tacos-35-year-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.restroworks.com\/blog\/wing-lam-on-the-secret-sauce-behind-wahoos-fish-tacos-35-year-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Wing Lam on the Secret Sauce Behind Wahoo\u2019s Fish Tacos&#8217; 35-Year Success"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In the ever-evolving restaurant industry, staying relevant for over three decades is no small feat. Yet, Wahoo\u2019s Fish Tacos has not only survived but thrived, expanding its footprint while staying true to its roots. At the heart of this success is Wing Lam, the co-founder and face of Wahoo\u2019s, whose approach to marketing, leadership, and business resilience has set his brand apart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this exclusive conversation, Wing shares insights on the birth of Wahoo\u2019s Fish Tacos, marketing, the secret to getting customers in the door, the changing landscape of restaurant marketing, and more. Stay tuned.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Wing Lam on the Secret Sauce Behind Wahoo\u2019s Fish Tacos&#039; 35-Year Success\" width=\"1140\" height=\"641\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LfMtjP6eWwM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen loading=\"lazy\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Wing, you\u2019ve been in the restaurant business for over three decades. Who are you as a restauranteur?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Wing Lam<\/strong>: At the beginning, I was just doing whatever needed to be done. Since I was the oldest and had a family to support, I needed a paycheck. I was the cashier, server, busboy, cook\u2014you name it, I did it. We couldn\u2019t afford much labor, so my brothers would fill in as they could.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the business grew, I naturally became the face of Wahoo\u2019s, not by choice but by necessity. Asians, by nature, tend to stay in the background, but I had to step up\u2014networking, doing interviews, speaking at events. People now recognize me as <em>the<\/em> Wahoo\u2019s guy, but really, it was just something that had to be done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>How did the journey of Wahoo\u2019s Fish Tacos begin?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Wing Lam<\/strong>: It was a mix of passion and timing. My brother Ed was finishing school, and we both loved surfing but weren\u2019t good enough to go pro. Orange County was the mecca for action sports\u2014surfers, skateboarders, BMX riders. In 1988, we found a struggling Italian restaurant for sale in Costa Mesa. It was in a great location, near major surf brands, so we decided to turn it into <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wahoos.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Wahoo\u2019s Fish Tacos<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Was there any part of running a restaurant that you realized early on wasn\u2019t for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Wing Lam<\/strong>: It\u2019s not so much about what I hated, but I quickly understood that unlike a regular job, where you get a paycheck no matter what, as a business owner, if people don\u2019t come through the door, there\u2019s no paycheck on Friday. That realization kept me up at night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s when I shifted my mindset. Instead of just counting the money we made, I focused on getting more people in the door. I tell new entrepreneurs all the time: restaurants don\u2019t fail because they make bad food; they fail because they can\u2019t get customers in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>You\u2019ve always been a creative marketer. What are some of the craziest marketing strategies you\u2019ve used?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Wing Lam<\/strong>: One of the biggest ones was leveraging influencers before social media even existed. We ran print ads featuring up-and-coming surfers, snowboarders, and musicians\u2014kids who were on the rise. The ad was about <em>them<\/em>, not us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many of those kids never went pro, but some did\u2014like Sean White and Donovan Frankenreiter. They never forgot us. I bet on young talent, knowing that if they ate at Wahoo\u2019s, their fans might, too. Even today, marketing isn\u2019t about talking about yourself; it\u2019s about celebrating the people who love your brand. That\u2019s what makes them share it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lately, I\u2019ve been hearing from major restaurant brands that they feel the U.S. market is saturated, so they\u2019re shifting to global expansion. Meanwhile, new local restaurants are popping up everywhere. How do you see the industry evolving?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Wing Lam<\/strong>: The key now is creating an experience. Customers need a reason to leave their house. Think about movie theaters\u2014the only ones thriving are those that offer luxury experiences, like reclining seats and full meal service. For restaurants, it\u2019s about finding the right location and pairing your brand with an experience\u2014whether it\u2019s next to a surf park, a golf range, or a major event venue. That\u2019s why I love concepts like Topgolf\u2014it turns a simple activity into a full-blown experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Do you think the restaurant industry is in trouble because younger generations aren\u2019t interested in it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Wing Lam<\/strong>: Yes, and it\u2019s not just about hard work. Younger generations are used to interacting through screens. The idea of dealing with an angry customer face-to-face terrifies them. Mike Tyson once said, \u201cPeople are brave online because they know they won\u2019t get punched in the face.\u201d That\u2019s the problem\u2014people hide behind their screens. They struggle with real-life conflict resolution. In restaurants, you have to deal with people who don\u2019t agree with you, who are upset, who complain. That\u2019s a skill that\u2019s disappearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Do you think that\u2019s why things like self-ordering kiosks and mobile ordering are growing?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Wing Lam<\/strong>: 100%. People would rather tap a screen than talk to a cashier. I see it all the time\u2014customers order through our app while sitting inside the restaurant just to avoid talking to our staff. It\u2019s crazy, but that\u2019s the world we live in now. Kids will be out together, but instead of talking, they\u2019re all on their phones. That\u2019s why old-school diners feel special\u2014they still have human interaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>You\u2019ve been in this business for over 35 years. What\u2019s your biggest challenge today?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Wing Lam<\/strong>: Costs. Food prices have gone up over 50%, and labor is up 50%, but customers still complain when we raise prices. People go to the grocery store and accept price increases, but at a restaurant, a 25-cent price hike on a taco is a big deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Hasn\u2019t delivery helped?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Wing Lam<\/strong>: Not really. Most people don\u2019t order drinks with delivery, and that\u2019s where restaurants make their margins. Plus, takeout food isn\u2019t the same. A hot, crispy taco at the restaurant turns mushy by the time it gets home. If we went fully delivery-based, we\u2019d have to raise prices by 50% to make up for lost margins. Nobody would pay that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What keeps you motivated after all these years?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Wing Lam<\/strong>: The people. Seeing customers who have been coming for decades, seeing kids grow up eating at Wahoo\u2019s\u2014it\u2019s special. Yes, it\u2019s tough. But at the end of the day, this business is about relationships\u2014customers, vendors, staff. If you focus on the people, success follows.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"conclusion\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n<p>Wing Lam\u2019s story isn\u2019t just about tacos\u2014it\u2019s about resilience, smart marketing, and the power of relationships. From betting on young talent before influencer marketing was a thing to navigating the changing restaurant landscape, his journey offers valuable lessons for anyone in business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>His advice? Stop talking about yourself. Focus on your customers. Build real relationships. And if you\u2019re going to be in the restaurant business, be ready to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the ever-evolving restaurant industry, staying relevant for over three decades is no small feat. Yet, Wahoo\u2019s Fish Tacos has not only survived but thrived, expanding its footprint while staying true to its roots. At the heart of this success is Wing Lam, the co-founder and face of Wahoo\u2019s, whose approach to marketing, leadership, and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":8909,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[11],"class_list":["post-8906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-restrocast-podcast","tag-featured"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.restroworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8906","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.restroworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.restroworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.restroworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.restroworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8906"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dev.restroworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8906\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.restroworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.restroworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.restroworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.restroworks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}