Asian Box proves that fresh, delicious and affordable is a winning combo in Palo Alto and beyond

In the world of Asian restaurants, there’s quick and inexpensive (i.e., Panda Express) and then there’s fresh and appealing, but rarely are the two combined with much success. That’s why Asian Box co-founders Frank Klein and Grace Nguyen knew they could create a new niche in the ‘fast casual ‘restaurant category. While places like Chipotle have tried to update traditional Mexican food, no one before Chan and Klein had tapped the desire for flavorful, healthy Asian cuisine.

“There was a ‘black hole’ of Asian food in the restaurant market,” Frank explains. “We knew that the Asian Box concept

would be welcomed by the diverse, food-oriented and sophisticated diners in Palo Alto and the Bay Area.”

Drawing on Frank’s background as a restauranteur and restaurant consultant and Grace’s experience cooking for famed Vietnamese Chef Charles Phan of the Slanted Door in San Francisco, the two founders devised a menu that is simple and focused on fresh, high quality ingredients.  Chad Newton, a Bay Area native with deep restaurant experience (and Grace’s husband), rounded out the team that opened Asian Box in Town and Country in Palo Alto in 2012.

The menu at Asian Box is simple- customers pick a protein (chicken, beef, shrimp, tofu or pork) and a starch (different kinds of rice and noodles), along with a variety of sauces and fresh herbs and toppings to create a customized ‘box’ that can be eaten at one of the restaurants tables or to go.

The first Asian Box restaurant met the metrics for possible expansion just six months after it opened. Interested investors soon came knocking, and a year later, there were two more Asian Box restaurants, one on Castro Street in Mountain View and the other in Union Square in San Francisco. As these new locations also hit their targets quickly, the team turned to opening two more locations in Southern California, in Burbank and downtown Los Angeles.

With a strong track record in California, it was inevitable that Asian Box would continue to grow, and a bigger investment from the Horowitz group was announced in early January 2015 that will fund at least three new stores this year, with additional growth forecast for other western states and eventually across the country. Klein and his team are open to a variety of possible locations for these new Asian Box stores, depending on where real estate opportunities arise.

One thing his team is not open to is becoming a franchise. “We want to maintain control over the quality of our products and about how our employees are treated, so all our stores will be owned and operated by Asian Box,” Klein says. “We also plan to keep our menu essentially the same as we expand because it appeals to such a wide range of people of all walks of life.”

Asian Box has grown and thrived in Palo Alto and its newer locations with almost no advertising other than Facebook promotions and in store giveaways. The company’s strategy for attracting customers has been to offer a high quality dining experience, and to build connections by investing in the communities where Asian Box is located. It’s also fortunate to have a high foot traffic at Town and Country from Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Stanford, Paly High School and more.

In Palo Alto, Asian Box donates 3 percent of its catering revenue to Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital and has given away 100% of its first day proceeds in each new restaurant it opens to the Wounded Warrior Project, a nonprofit that supports veterans.

And while Asian Box is firmly a for-profit operation, Frank Klein has a vision for how it can make a difference for its employees and for the communities where it operates. “Our goal is to create a socially responsible company that produces a great product, is financially and environmentally sustainable, and provides meaningful work for our employees. We have created 137 jobs in California that pay above the minimum wage- we even pay the cell phone bills for some of our teenage workers as a way to attract and retain great people.”

As Asian Box opens new restaurants across the country in coming years, just remember that like many cool things, it started here in Palo Alto.

Asian Box Location and Hours:

Town & Country Shopping Center
855 El Camino Real
Palo Alto, CA 94301
Phone (650) 391-9305
Fax (650) 521-0183
Get Directions

Hours
11am–9pm Daily