Fellow Bruins craving Vietnamese sandwiches called banh mi can finally get their fix as UCLA alumni roll out their little green Nom Nom Truck into West Los Angeles.
With the lack of Vietnamese food vendors in the area and the recent craze of the Kogi BBQ taco truck as inspiration, three UCLA alumni, David Stankunas, Jennifer Green and Misa Chien, joined together last March to conceptualize the mobile food idea.
What separates Nom Nom from other food trucks is its unique fusion of French and Vietnamese cuisine. “The baguette is made of rice flour, so it tastes a little bit different than the French (style) and there are different flavors to the sandwiches: pickled vegetables, scallions, pate and mayonnaise.” Chien said.
The entrepreneurial trio originally met at UCLA’s Hapa Club. The three food lovers decided to start a business after Stankunas discovered Kogi BBQ.
Though the Nom Nom team members are no newcomers to the entrepreneurial world, with previously established small businesses of their own that sell jewelry and other accessories online, running a food operation was new to all the owners.
“We’re all these UCLA students with no culinary backgrounds. We didn’t really know what we’re doing,” Stankunas said. “All of the food trucks on the lot took us under their wings, so we’re learning together. It’s great to be part of the movers and shakers in the food business. It’s a great support system.”
The menu is priced to appeal to college students, ranging $4 to $5 per item and featuring seven different items, including a variety of Vietnamese sandwiches and tacos made with fresh ingredients: lemongrass chicken, grilled pork or vegetarian tofu.
The name “Nom Nom” is from the hip Internet slang term signifying the onomatopoeia of chowing down food. For Stankunas, Chien and Green, it’s also a double entendre with the abbreviation for Vietnam. Like the catchy name, the owners hope banh mi will catch on with young adults.
“We want banh mi to become the new sushi,” Chien said.
Embracing the innovative marketing techniques of Kogi, which they refer to as “the Godfather,” Nom Nom relies on its Web site (www.nomnomtruck.com), and popular social networking Web sites like Twitter and Facebook to get the word out about their business.
“It’s really great when people tweet and retweet back to us because we’re not a random food truck; we’re all (recent) grads. Almost all of our employees were recruited because they are a friend or a friend of a friend, so we have a lot of UCLA kids on board,” he added.
Nom Nom Truck officially launched on Aug. 2 at the Brig, a Venice bar, completely selling out to a long line of customers, including celebrities Elijah Wood (“Lord of the Rings”), Roger Sterling (“Mad Men”) and Sam Trammell (“True Blood”).
Although a seemingly successful first time out, the Nom Nom crew promises it will be faster and more efficient in weeks to come.
“We’re still figuring out what constitutes a good or bad day. We just went to USC and it was horrible. … There was no parking and no real crowd. It just didn’t work for us,” Stankunas said.
Despite their greenness, the truck is already in high demand as local companies and Hollywood sets get their “nom” on. Mouths around Los Angeles are watering for their warm, crispy baguettes stuffed with rich Vietnamese flavors: smoky, savory meat complemented by tangy strips of pickled white radish and carrot.
“We want our customers to experience a product that is fresh, enjoyable, and to be able to come back. So far, we’ve received a lot of offers for catering, which is a huge part of our business alongside street vending, so we’ve been working with film sets, birthday parties and receptions,” Chien said.
True to its roots, the Nom Nom Truck prefers to stay in areas accessible to UCLA students and plans to frequent Westwood once school starts. Hopes to create a special UCLA launch and to expand in the future are already in place.
“We definitely would like to open more trucks in the future, but first things first. We’ve got to get the truck out there, serve good food, meet lots of friends and do good by our customers,” Stankunas said.