How two childhood friends built 10-unit Mecha Noodle Bar

Take-Away with Sam Oches

Nation's Restaurant News

Business, Entrepreneurship

2.5 • 15 Ratings

🗓️ 3 September 2024

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Tony Pham and Rich Reyes, the cofounders of Mecha Noodle Bar, a full-service Asian concept based in Connecticut that has grown to 10 locations around the country. The childhood friends have scaled this brand with an Asian soul food menu of ramen, pho, and bao served in a relaxed, modern setting, and they joined the podcast to share how their friendship has been key to their success and why giving back to their communities has boosted their recruitment and retention.

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

A successful business needs a little intellect and a little instinct
No matter your product or concept, consumers appreciate a great experience
Some restaurants come together like magic
You should make sure you have a restaurant before you have a business
It pays to invest in people who invest in themselves
The best way to give back is if you build it into your business model

Have feedback or ideas for Take-Away? Email Sam at [email protected].

Transcript

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0:00.0	Blending up fun freshly frozen beverages from shakes and smoothies to bowls and cocktails has never been easier than the Forreel by Rich's back-of-house blender.
0:09.0	Simply grab a For Real by Rich's frozen-based cup, place it in a blender, and press start for hands-free, mess-free blending in under a minute.
0:16.2	Customize or serve it as is? It's that easy. Learn more about Forreel by riches at richesusa.com
0:22.5	slash for real dash food service. Hey there, welcome to Takeaway with Sam Okas, a podcast from
0:29.1	nation's restaurant news. I am Sam Okas, editor-in-chief here at NRN, and this is the show
0:34.2	where I give you an all-access pass to the restaurant industry's most
0:37.6	influential decision makers. This week, I'm talking with Tony Fam and Rich Reyes, the co-founders
0:44.0	of Mecha Noodle Bar, a full-service Asian concept based in Connecticut that has grown to
0:50.4	10 locations around the country. Tony and Rich have been best friends since childhood,
0:56.4	and they have this incredible story as the sons of immigrants who were raised in food service.
1:01.8	They joined forces after Tony launched the first metro location back in 2013, and they have not
1:08.1	looked back, scaling this brand with an Asian soul food menu of ramen,
1:13.3	fah, and bow, among many other delicious menu items that are served in a relaxed,
1:18.8	modern setting. They joined the podcast to share how their friendship has been key to their success
1:24.7	and why giving back to their communities has boosted their recruitment
1:28.8	and retention. In this interview, you will learn more about why a successful business needs
1:34.2	a little intellect and a little instinct, why you should make sure you have a restaurant before
1:39.6	you have a business, and why it pays to invest in people who invest in themselves. By the way, we were
1:46.0	excited to name Metsha Noodle Bar one of this year's Hot Concepts, and Rich will be joining us
1:52.1	and in Nashville this October 10th at Create the Event for Emerging Restaurant Tours, as we will welcome
1:59.5	the six Hot Concept winners to share their
2:01.7	stories from the main stage.
	...

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