Now celebrating its 20th anniversary, WaBa Grill continues to put a vibrant, tantalizing twist on protein-rich dishes
Bringing bold, grilled-to-order flavors to the fast-casual landscape, WaBa Grill is redefining what it means to eat better. Established in Los Angeles in 2006, the company’s unique concept blends Asian-inspired cuisine with the dynamic LA food scene to prove that better-for-you food can deliver bold, craveable flavor without compromise. The business’ three founders, Eric Lee, Kyle Lee, and Brian Ham, all came from the franchise world and, driven by their experience, were determined to create a restaurant company that was franchise friendly and accessible to true operators. Drawing on their franchise experience, the trio set out to create a menu inspired by the balanced traditions of Asian cuisine in a quick-service setting, at a time when few restaurant brands were offering better-for-you food on the go.
Since then, WaBa Grill has only continued to grow and flourish. Today, the business has 195 franchised restaurants across California, Nevada, Arizona, and Texas, operated by some of the strongest players in the industry. 2026, however, marks one of the most special and exciting years in WaBa Grill’s journey thus far. Not only is the company proud to be celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, but it is also excited to hit 200 stores and is on pace to surpass $200 million in systemwide sales.
With Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Fresno being the business’ key growth markets, WaBa Grill is well-positioned for further expansion and long-term value creation across the US. To celebrate the company’s milestone year and honor its continued growth and success, Food Chain sits down with Afshin Compani, WaBa Grill’s President and Chief Operating Officer, who unveils the business’ exciting recent developments and delves deeper into the philosophy behind providing the ‘WaBa Difference’.
“Innovation is always on the table at WaBa Grill. Our early momentum has been supported by successful innovation including the launch of WaBa’s Chicken & Shrimp Bowl, a new protein pairing that quickly gained guest adoption. Our 2026 first quarter introduction of Chili Crisp Dumplings, a bold twist on our fan-favorite dumplings, has exceeded early test performance,” Afshin begins, sharing insight into WaBa Grill’s ongoing menu development. “Our core menu features high-quality, chargrilled proteins served as bowls or plates. Later, we added tacos, since our proteins naturally lent themselves to the offering! This gives our guests another opportunity for variety and another occasion to come to WaBa Grill, along with our WaBeverage program that’s grown quite popular.
“Looking ahead, 2026 is shaping up to be one of the most ambitious and innovation-driven years in our history,” he reveals. “We plan to expand our successful WaBeverage platform, Happy Hour’s daypart strategy, and introduce a new core menu architecture. This initiative represents the most extensively test-ed menu evolution in our history and is designed to simplify the guest experience, strengthen unit eco-nomics, and support our next phase of growth.”
Better-for-you bowls
With every dish freshly prepared with high-quality ingredients and bursting with nutritional goodness, WaBa Grill’s menu is a tantalizing delight for both the body and the tastebuds. Customers can choose from a range of proteins – from sweet and spicy chicken to marinated steak, sizzling shrimp and wild-caught salmon, along with vegetarian and vegan options such as tofu and Plantspired™ Steak – with fluffy rice and fresh vegetables, available either as a bowl or on a plate. These dishes offer a differentiated option in the market while aligning with today’s growing demand for protein-rich meals.
“High protein meals are very popular right now, but we’ve been serving high protein, better-for-you Asian
inspired bowls for the last 20 years,” Afshin elaborates. “Half of our bowls deliver 35 grams of protein or more; the remainder provide at least 19 grams. Our menu development focuses on what we do best: nutritiously dense meals, freshly grilled proteins, steamed vegetables, and bold flavors. Healthy doesn’t have to taste bland; our belief in bold flavors keeps people craving our meals and coming back.”
This longstanding commitment to nutritious, flavorful meals has not only kept customers coming back, but it has also helped define the brand’s iconic identity over the last two decades.
“We’ve always been true to our roots,” Afshin says, reflecting on the key driver behind WaBa Grill’s longevity and success. “WaBa Grill is an LA original, shaped by one of the most competitive food markets in the country, and we’ve focused on what we do best, and that is Asian-inspired, better-for-you meals for those on the go. Not only is this a very balanced way to eat, but people resonate with it because that’s the way humans have been eating for thousands of years. It’s not a fad – we carry on those traditions but modernize them for current tastes. People appreciate that and it never goes out of style.”
Tradition and authenticity
Building further on its 2025 success – with both sales and transactions rising by 7.1 percent – WaBa Grill embarks on its 20th anniversary year with continued momentum, with first quarter 2026 sales up approximately ten percent. By remaining focused on innovation, great taste, value, and an exceptional guest experience, WaBa Grill is well-positioned for continued growth and success and is both confident in its cur-rent trajectory and energized by the opportunities ahead.
“We’re keenly focused on our franchise network and building out WaBa Grill across the US. There are a lot of talented operators that have expressed interest in bringing WaBa’s LA-original menu to the East Coast and regions in between. Our goal is to maintain strong leadership to steward us through the economic un-certainty and scenarios the restaurant industry always faces. Restaurants play an important role in the health of our communities, both socially and nutritionally, and we’re more confident than ever that this is the key to our longevity both in the past and as we look to the future,” Afshin affirms, optimistic for what’s to come.
“The world is constantly evolving, and WaBa Grill has remained disciplined in how it evolves with it. How-ever, there are enduring aspects of a brand that are essential: authenticity, commitment to tradition, and standing for something important. Those things never change, they never matter less, and are, too often, compromised in pursuit of profit or an attempt to be all things to all consumers. At WaBa Grill, we under-stand who we are and, just as importantly, what it is our best customers depend on us for. As WaBa Grill evolves, it will always be a real reflection of what we can be, and what we’ve always been.”