‘Aloha’ From Alhambra in Danger

Aloha Food Factory (Photo Melissa Michelson)

Phu Luong, who goes by Aaron, has been one of the two new owners of the Aloha Food Factory since May 2020, and took over in the height of the pandemic and lock-downs.

By Melissa Michelson

With an educational background in management, prior to acquiring the restaurant, he would spend time cooking and making social media posts of his own food.

He along with co-owner James Kuang, grew up in the San Gabriel Valley. Kuang was the realtor that was selling the restaurant for the original owner, but they both decided to take over the eatery and share the administration and marketing tasks as managing partners.

“We took a jump into running the restaurant,” said Luong.  The original restaurant owners considered them close family friends, practically nephews, he said.

But in June, he noticed a sign go up in the parking lot that the owner of the property, Malcolm Arakelian, wanted to get permission from the City’s Planning Commission to demolish Aloha Food Factory and Ernie’s Burger and put in a car wash. The Planning Commission rejected Arakelian’s application, but now he is appealing their decision to the Alhambra City Council, which will make the final decision on Monday.

The few months leading up to the Planning Commission meeting saw a lot of community support for this unique eatery, which is on west Valley close to the 710-freeway entrance.

The public outcry when it came up on June 7 and June 21, 2021 at the Planning Commission meetings brought 2-3 hours of 70 comments, all of them in opposition.

Several weeks after that meeting, the landlord doubled Aloha Food Factory’s rent.

The interior of Aloha Food Factory in Alhambra (Photo – Melissa Michelson)

The founder of the restaurant is 74-year-old Betty Tom, who still comes in to do quality check, greet guests and is their consultant. Luong said, “She had been doing everything herself: supplying, managing, cooking…” until he and Kuang took over.

Betty and her husband had run the restaurant since 1994. He was a marine stationed in Hawaii, and out of her love for Hawaii, they were inspired to serve Hawaiian comfort food, like Hawaiian style pancakes and teriyaki plates.

Since the restaurant changed hands, the look of the menu has changed with added pictures and different categories, and ordering and delivery were expanded to include online platforms like Doordash.

At the moment due to the pandemic, the service is fast- casual. Customers can order online or at the restaurant, and the food will be prepared for take-out, but can be eaten on-site indoors or outdoors.

The public hearing and possible City Council vote on whether to allow the property owner to bulldoze the restaurants and put in a carwash is set for Monday, December 13 (Agenda #3).