Choi and Patterson Talk Loco'L, Say First Location is Only Months Away

Well, Roy Choi is making the food news rounds once again today, after sitting down with the Wall Street Journal and his business partner Daniel Patterson for a conversation at Commissary, Choi’s Koreatown poolside hotspot. LA Mag picks up on the details, as Choi, Patterson and WSJ writer Howie Kahn discuss the forthcoming Loco’L concept, which is aimed at overturning every aspect of the fast food industry.

Much of the evening’s conversation centered around the dynamic duo of Patterson and Choi themselves, two equally motivated chefs in different cities who have chosen to come together to do their part in fighting America’s hunger problem. Their friendship, so its told, was cemented at the MAD Symposium in 2013, and has only grown since.

Choi, for his part, spoke up about the menu options available at the forthcoming Loco’L, which will include agua frescas instead of soda, plus $4 burgers and $2 chicken tenders. Cheaper 99-cent options will be almost entirely plant-based, and Loco’L will also offer options like rice bowls and a variety of other quick service handled snacks.

As for timing, the Loco’L in Watts is still the apparent front-runner to open, with Choi saying that things should be ready in about five months. In all, that’s not a bad turnaround for a location that is currently very, very bare. It also means that kids could be eating at Loco’L just in time for summer vacation.

Click here to read the full Wall Street Journal article on Patterson, Choi and Loco’l.