Restaurant of the Week reveals restaurant owners’ stories

In June, the Alhambra Chamber kicked off its new restaurant of the week program to highlight the culinary diversity and deliciousness of the City. The program launched on June 13 with Tasty Pot, a new hot pot restaurant on Main Street, which offered customers 10% as part of the weeklong promotion. This was followed by Burgers and More, which offered off-menu items during the week, and then Aloha Food Factory offered free SPAM Musubi or Macadamia Nut Pancake with the purchase of a 2-item breakfast or island plate.

Every restaurant has a story. For Rola Elhurr, the owner of Burgers and More, the story is about aspirations, hardship, and overcoming challenges. Rola had to rebuild after a storeroom fire, and then make it through the pandemic, after becoming the sole family member in charge of the restaurant. As she shares it all in her own words, Rola says, “This was definitely not in my plans but I worked hard and stayed open throughout. It has been a struggle as it has been for everyone, but we are just very grateful to have made it through so far. I am continuing to fix up, remodel and incorporate new marketing features for Burgers and More. I want to keep the retro style mom and pop feel but introduce and include new ways to reach people and keep our loyal customers coming back.”

Aloha Food Factory co-owner Aaron Luong has always had a passion for food, from making fried rice at the age of eight to cooking in order to survive through college. Slowly, it became a hobby and fun form of expression. “That feeling of nailing a recipe on the 1st or 5th try was gratifying, no matter how complicated. That positive feeling furthers when I get to share that dish with friends and family and see their reactions. During the start of the pandemic, I, like many others, got laid off. My friend James brought the opportunity of Aloha Food Factory up because he saw some of the dishes I made and even tried a handful of them before. We worked together with Betty in order to get Aloha Food Factory up and running again in August after its closing in March 202,” Aaron explained.

Tasty Pot Alhambra owner, Phillip Chen has been planning for the business for about 3 years. Phillip was originally in the real estate industry but was always very intrigued by the restaurant industry, in part because of cooking shows such as Hell’s Kitchen. Growing up in the San Gabriel Valley, a place known for good restaurants, helped inspire Phillip to get into the restaurant business. One day, he drove by and saw the restaurant’s current location and knew it was the perfect location for his restaurant. Shortly after, he opened Tasty Pot Alhambra with his business partner Jason Zheng.

Look for the Restaurant Of The Week feature in this issue and at alhambraeats.com.