DAVID LI
Not Just Boba
FALL 2011
PHOTO BY TOM ZASADZINSKI
Collins | |
David Li’s Guppy Houses are well known for their gigantic shaved ice desserts.
Li opened the first Guppy Teahouse in 2003 as the boba tea craze in Southern California was taking off. While his menu continues to include many flavors of the popular milk tea, his menu is like no other. “We make changes based on customers’ opinions. You want to serve what they want,” he said. Li grew up in a restaurant family. His parents owned and operated an Italian-French restaurant in Taiwan until he was 12 years old. That amalgamation of cultures fuses its way into the cuisine at Li’s teahouses today. Guppy House’s expansive menu draws from Li’s mother’s take on traditional Taiwanese comfort food like beef stew, mixed with French presentation and preparation techniques and influences from the richly diverse Southern California population. Filipino and Korean cuisines are apparent in some of the fish and noodle dishes. None of the teahouses serves alcohol yet they stay open late, so they are popular night spots for young adults and families. Li credits the company’s success to its ability to evolve its menu and human resources management. Those reasons — plus — location, location, location. The location of each store was painstakingly chosen for their freeway access, large parking lots, patio seating and more. Li launched the first Guppy Teahouse soon after graduating with the help of his parents and other investors. Vallens and Vuong started even earlier while they were still hitting the books. (continued on next page)
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