Fowler Alum/Founder of Wahoos Fish Tacos Delivers Food and PPEs to Frontline Workers

“It’s never gonna come here.”

That’s what Fowler College of Business alumnus Wing Lam (’84, finance) remembers saying to his companions about the COVID-19 pandemic as they drove from Orange County to the Los Angeles International Airport to pick up a friend on March 1, 2020.

Lam and company made a stop in Rancho Cucamonga to deliver their goodie bags to a group of firefighters. 

Lam, the co-founder and CEO of Wahoo’s Fish Tacos, had several friends in town to attend the Natural Products Expo West which was to open in Anaheim, California two days later.

Soon after Lam and his friends arrived at the airport, they found out that the event was postponed (later cancelled) due to the outbreak of the pandemic. In the days that followed, most other public events were also postponed or cancelled. On March 15, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued the first of a series of orders which shut down many of the state’s businesses, institutions and workplaces (including dine-in restaurants) and required all state residents to stay at home.

“Everything went from 100 percent to 10 percent,” recalled Lam. “It was like a ghost town.” Wahoo’s Fish Tacos immediately felt the sting of the shutdown as the company had to temporarily close 12 of its 49 restaurants, three of which will never re-open.

To keep most his employees working, Lam and his friend, Eric Morley, devised a plan to deliver fish, chicken and tofu tacos to healthcare workers and first responders. The team called everyone on their extensive friends and business associates lists to raise the funds to make this happen. They called their project “California Love Drop.”

Wing Lam, CEO and co-founder of Wahoo's Fish Tacos (center with sign), delivered food, frozen yogurt and PPE to the Children's Hospital of Orange County on May 15.

“Some of the companies we contacted had charity dollars that weren’t being used, so we started with that to fund California Love Drop” said Lam, who made his first taco delivery to workers at Hoag Hospital in Irvine on April 12 in a Wahoo’s Fish Tacos delivery van.

The project soon became a collaborative effort as the pair’s contact list* began donating their products and supplies to add to the taco deliveries. Candy, energy drinks, hand sanitizers, water, facemasks, hot sauce, Pocky sticks and frozen yogurt began showing up in the goodie bags, which varied depending on “what we have on hand,” reported Lam. 

One interesting by-product of the California Love Drop project is its positive impact on businesses. Lam reported that Coyle Reprographics of Brea, California, saw their business take a substantial downturn during the start of the pandemic, but they nevertheless contributed face shields and masks that they manufactured to the project. The face shields were such a hit with the California Love Drop recipients that healthcare organizations and others began sending orders to the company which helped to re-build their business. “I love that we are able to help people AND businesses,” said Lam.

While healthcare organizations are one recipient of California Love Drop, Lam has made deliveries to many people who are working through the pandemic in locations that range from San Diego to Los Angeles.  “We deliver to whoever needs us, including churches, hospitals, COVID-19 testing centers, grocery store distribution centers, homes of frontline workers and others,” said Lam. “For example, we’re planning to make a delivery to construction workers at the site of the Rams’ new stadium because there are no food trucks there right now.”

As of this writing, California Love Drop have made over 100 site visits and Lam says he plans to keep going as long as the pandemic crisis lasts. He said: “It’s fun because I get to make an impact and I love seeing the smile on people’s faces.”

*Contributors to the California Love Drop include: Eric Morley (Blue C) , Melissa Luna (Yogurtland)  , Paul Palacios (Hint Water) , Wendy Ellis (KLOS) , Brad Appelgate (Coyle Repro) , Steve Van Doren (Vans) Charles Antis (Antis Roofing), Cary Breeden (Ameramark), B Candy (Brandy Valdez), Cody Walker and Sean Lee (Purist),