Our Mission
Bo, po, mo, and fo are the Chinese “ABCs,” a nostalgic and basic foundation for us Asian-Americans.
As a cafe, BOPOMOFO seeks to represent this nostalgia and foundation with high-quality ingredients, homemade items, and an influence from both our cultural backgrounds. Through elevated food, beverage, service, and design we seek to inspire and uplift the local community. We hope you enjoy our cafe!
Our Story
BOPOMOFO's story starts in the late 90s when boba was first introduced to the US.
Our co-founder, Philip Wang immediately felt that boba shops were a unique part of Asian American culture which lead him to work at a cafe through college. Meanwhile Eric Wang, our other co-founder, was developing his love for cooking at a young age, but had to give it up when his parents pushed him for a more secure career.
In 2016, longtime friends Phil and Eric decided that they wanted to live out their culinary and hospitality dreams by opening a cafe of their own.
After a stressful two year period of developing their product and concept, and struggling to find a location, they finally found their home in the heart of San Gabriel. Now it was time to test their ideas; drinks that used only fresh, real ingredients, and food items that celebrated their bi-cultural upbringing.
Eric and Phil knew these concepts would be new and challenging to the local community, but thankfully their intentions to create a vibrant, delicious, and impactful space were welcomed.
Now, Phil and Eric seek to continue to provide a unique and high quality food and beverage menu, while also pushing creativity within their cafe and beyond.