What Must A Pilipino Restaurant Do To Survive Chicago?

A couple weeks ago I made two game-changing discoveries; things that I didn't think were possible but I had hoped to see at some point in my lifetime. I was checking my Twitter feed at work when I noticed Rowie (@rovergara) had posted that there may have been a restaurant in downtown Chicago that served Pilipino food. The very next day, I noticed there was a food truck that was serving adobo chicken and a banana ketchup sauce. Sure enough, it was another Pilipino food source downtown!

To understand the significance of this, you need to understand the population distribution in Chicago. The largest Pilipino population is in the far north side of the city, quite a ways from the commercial dense area of downtown where most people work. The downtown Loop area is the second largest commercial business district in the country after Midtown Manhattan, and thousands of people commute downtown for work.

What does this all mean? Until very recently, it was impossible for many Chicagoans to get any sort of Pilipino food for their lunch breaks. Now, thanks to Halo Asian Mix (@HaloAsianMix) and Brown Bag Truck (@brownbagtruck) they can finally get some without having to bring some from home and, more importantly in my opinion, they can introduce their co-workers to the wonders of Pilipino food.

Now, while these places are great and are run by Pilipinos, they don't just serve up Pilipino food – in fact, they only make up 20% or so of each place's menu. Halo tackles several other Asian countries' dishes, while Brown Bag serves up other barbecue sandwiches. I mentioned this a bit in my first ever BakitWhy.com article (Who needs Jollibee?), where I theorized that it may make more sense to serve Pilipino food as an option rather than the main feature. While a full Pilipino restaurant may work in the north side, it's almost certainly a great financial risk in the expensive downtown areas. Your average American has probably never tried Pilipino food, especially when you compare that to the likelihood they know Chinese, Japanese, or Thai food (Americanized as they may be).

Now that there are actually people willing to take the risk (and my money), I now wonder how far the boundary can be pushed. For example, I think Halo's menu is too diverse, but I also think a full Pilipino menu would be too foreign. It's a delicate balance when you consider the amount of competition that exists in such a dense area. You need to stand out while not being too intimidating. Could Halo exist with their unique offerings of Pilipino and Hawaiian food, with just a bit of sesame chicken to get people in the door? Given Chicago's strict food truck laws, does Brown Bag even have the option of branching out more without eating into its profits? (Chicago does not allow any food preparation to be done in the truck – all food must be pre-made)

I don't have those answers – I'm just happy to be able to have adobo for lunch at all. And if they need to stay at that 20% level to stay in business for the long run, I'll be happy with that too. I just hope they realize the uniqueness they bring to Chicago and the importance of being a bit diverse. Let's just say I'm not disappointed to see the falafel place by my house close shop after nine months – I've got three other options for that within a block from the soon-to-be taco joint.