Fil-Korean-Mexican food truck a big hit in Los Angeles

A late-night craving fired up Mark Manguera to cook up a storm. A few weeks later, he and pal-business partner chef Roy Choi rolled out the first Kogi BBQ taco truck that’s now part of a successful fleet of deliciousness.
 
“I was laid off during the recession of 2008, Manguera told Philippine News. “I got hungry after a long night hanging out with friends, and I had an epiphany when they asked me what I wanted to eat. Would it be great if someone placed Korean barbecue in a taco, I asked my friends, sold it from a truck, and parked the truck outside of this bar?”
 
Manguera is allied with a Korean family and as a result of that, he told PNews, he was inspired to combine Mexican and Korean food. His girlfriend Caroline Shin is a business partner, he added.
 
Relying on Internet technology to advance their business, Caroline’s sister Alice Shin posts on YouTube and tweets regularly to connect with their ‘roving’ clientele. Her brother Eric Shin is Kogi lunch manager and photographer. Their name and logo and the decision to use Twitter and ongoing social media strategy came from their consultant, Kogi social media and brand director Mike Prasad, who is a best friend of Eric Shin.
 
“The Kogi truck took a while to catch on,” said Manguera. “After several weeks of parking in different locations and not getting any customers, we started going to clubs and giving free samples to bouncers. They enjoyed them and spread the word.”
 
To date, Manguera operates five trucks with extra trucks for large events such as the Coachella Music Festival in Coachella Valley, Southern Calif.
 
Big break
 
Kogi’s first big break, Manguerra said, came when they were outside Green Door, a night club in Hollywood. They had contacted food bloggers, who then wrote about their tacos. When their location was announced on Twitter and blog kogibbq.com, “there was considerable buzz on social networking service leading Newsweek to proclaim Kogi as American’s first viral eatery.”
 
With no fixed location, but in the tradition of L.A. taco trucks, Kogi operated entirely from a mobile vehicle driven around the city and parked for a few hours in different locations with some preparation done from a home base in Culver City, Calif. Its fan base has been built up through effective use of the Internet and cell phones to promote an online “Kogi Kulture.”
 
A year later, Manguera, Shin, and Choi received the Bon Appétit Award for “being true innovators as grassroots guerrilla restaurateurs.” The zine’s further comment: “We love Kogi most of all for bringing high-concept, creative cuisine directly to the streets.” At that time, Kogi had “36,000 Twitter followers” and had its first fixed location, as a partner in the Alibi Room, a local lounge in Culver City, where Kogi is the food portion of the bar.
 
In 2010, Kogi owners opened restaurant Chego, located in Chinatown, with a primary focus on bowls. It was also the year when the Best New Chef Award went to Choi given by Food & Wine, the first for a food truck, according to Manguera. He added that Kogi was also recognized as one of the Top 5 Food Trucks in the U.S. by gayot.com, a website that serves “as a serious, honest and professional resource on dining, travel, and lifestyle for an international readership in search of the best.”
 
The following year, Kogi partners established Snow Monkey, offering home made snow ice flavors such as chipotle mango and maple caramelized bacon, located in Torrance, Calif., which will also be home to Kogi’s Salad and Sandwich Bar, a healthy and organic “build your own salad and sandwich.” Customers pay by weight from a large selection of toppings such as spinach, lettuce, etc. Breads are custom made.
 
By mid-2011, Kogi had expanded from the original truck to a fleet of five fusion food trucks in Los Angeles. Gogi means beef in Korean, but a typical fare could also include spicy pork tacos, kimchi quesadillas and short rib sliders.  
 
“Los Angeles, like many large American cities, has a large percentage of residents from different cultures, says Manguera, “and Kogi relies on the familiarity people have with other cuisines.”
 
Education
 
Manguera came to America at age 3, grew up in Vallejo, northeast of San Francisco. He moved to Southern California after high school and studied at Cal State Fullerton (2002) where he graduated with a B.A. degree in Management and Entrepreneurial Studies. He also graduated from the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco with a degree in Culinary Studies and Management. He later studied at the Le Cordon Bleu and finished Culinary Internship from the Grand Wailea Maui in 2004.  From 2003 to 2006, he was chef for Boutique Catering Companies in Napa, Sonoma, and San Francisco.
 
Manguera worked as a manager of the main restaurant of the Hyatt Huntington Beach Resort and Spa in Huntington, Calif., before moving to the Beverly Hilton, Beverly Hills, as a general manager for the hotel’s restaurant where he managed 200 Union employees. He was also food and beverage manager for the 2008 Golden Globes.
 
Role model
 
At the recent Search to Involve Pilipino Americans’ 41st anniversary ‘Panibagong Simula! A New Beginning,’ Manguera was hailed as a role model and received the ‘Uliran’ award.
 
“I’m honored and humbled to be part of our community,” he said, “and I look forward to helping inspire and move our community forward.”
 
The Kogi CEO not only manages their companies, but he also serves as an equity partner and consultant for others. “But I still drive our extra trucks for holiday events from 6 a.m. until 12 a.m.,” he says.
 
“If you know of individuals who may need honest and genuine real life guidance,” he told PNews, “I would be more than happy to provide them a different way to look at the road ahead. From small mom and pop operators to multi-unit chains, I have guided owners one on one with their personal and professional challenges. It’s interesting because through my life experiences, I’ve been given a new set of eyes that others can utilize to move their company forward.” — Philippine News