Today we’d like to introduce you to Raymond Yaptinchay and Jay Tugas.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Raymond and Jay. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
We are childhood friends, we grew up in the Philippines. I moved to Los Angeles after college and Jay moved to New York City. While I worked in the jewelry industry and Jay in advertising, we always loved cooking and dreamt about opening our own restaurant. We wanted to share our culture and the flavors that we grew up with, so we decided it was time to chase that dream and started a food truck in 2017. In April 2017, Spoon&Pork was born.
We both had zero experience in a professional kitchen, so had to learn everything by ourselves. It was always trial and error until we finally got a system down that worked for us. Running a food truck was very hard but also rewarding specially since you get to interact with your customers directly. Seeing their reactions when they eat our food was one of the best feelings and also motivated us to push more. Within three months of operation, we won an award for the best food truck in Los Angeles by LAWeekly.
We ran the food truck for about 1 1/2 years until it was time for us to start looking for a permanent home for Spoon&Pork. We opened in July 2019. We ended that year strong. Los Angeles Times and New York Times named the Patita & Coco Jack one of the best dishes of 2019. Eater said we were one of the most important new restaurants that opened in 2019.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
No, it wasn’t easy at all. When we started the food truck, we had no idea how to run a food truck. We thought it was as simple as parking in a good location and start selling food. It turned out being nothing remotely close to simple. We learned that all the spots were ran by bookers and you had to pay a fee to park there. You also had to pay a membership fee to an “association” to get in the other spots. Eventually, we found our way by just trying what worked and didn’t for us.
In three months in operation, we won the best food truck in LA by LAweekly. That was a big deal for us since we were starting to get our groove and beginning to build a following.
We ran our food truck for about a year and a half until we decided to expand into a brick & mortar. Once we found our location in Silver Lake, we stopped the food truck to focus on opening our restaurant.
That was not easy as well. There was no manual on how to open a restaurant. Dealing with contractors, the city and the different departments was no easy task at all. It’s difficult to open a business in Los Angeles.
We opened our doors finally on July 2019. A week into our opening our hood died and pipes burst. Once we got that all sorted, we were finally ready to do our grand opening.
One thing in the restaurant business is there are so many variables that every day is going to be different. Coming from a food truck, we’re quick to think on our feet and handle problems head on when they come.
Spoon & Pork – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Spoon & Pork is a modern Filipino comfort food restaurant. It’s our take on Filipino comfort food. Born in the Philippines and made in Los Angeles. We are proud to present traditional flavors that we cherished growing up in the Philippines through our reimagined style dishes.
We love it when our customers come up to us and tell us that our food reminds them of home. Our goal is to really introduce Filipino food to everyone. There is so much more to Filipino food than adobo, pancit and lumpia.
We’re proud of our team and the culture we have created. We are a family and would do anything for each other.
We both don’t have “traditional training”. We never went to culinary school and have never worked in a restaurant before our food truck. I guess we do not follow any rules when it comes to cooking.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success is defined by failures. One thing I keep on telling people when they ask for advice to just try. No more what if’s, life is too short, just get up and do it. I know it’s easier said than done but you’ll never know until you do.
I have more failures than success. The great thing about failing is learning from it. Apply what you’ve learned and keep on pushing.
In business, you will get your aha moment, when everything falls into place and you get the right formula. Always make sure that you take care of everyone working for us. Without them, you will not succeed.
Contact Info:
- Address: 3131 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles CA 90026 - Website: spoonandpork.com
- Phone: 323-922-6061
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spoonandporkla/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spoonandpork
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/spoonandporkla
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/spoon-and-pork-los-angeles
Image Credit:
Stan Lee
Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
