By Bari Cohn
News Editor
Taco ‘bout some good local Mexican food, Hermosa Beach native and Mira Costa alumnus Bill Graw is the owner of the South Bay’s restaurant chain, El Gringo.
Graw purchased the original El Gringo in Hermosa Beach in 2000 when the property went up for sale. The intentions of the seller were to use the property in order to build condos; however, Graw purchased the property for $250,000 to follow his dreams of keeping the beloved restaurant chain alive and expanding the chain throughout the communities in the South Bay.
“I had always loved El Gringo and did not want to see it die, so I took a big risk and purchased the Hermosa location,” Graw said. “Casual Mexican food usually has casual customers, and being a casual person myself led me to the decision that I wanted to open up one El Gringo in every beach city in the South Bay.”
After purchasing El Gringo, Graw implemented some changes to ensure the restaurant would thrive in the rapidly changing community. He first repaired and renovated the building to make it less of a hole-in-the-wall and more of an upscale restaurant, he said. He also began purchasing higher quality ingredients to ensure the food was up to new standards.
“El Gringo was very popular during the ‘90s for a much different reason than it is now,” Graw said. “During the time I bought the business, more than 20 restaurants were changing ownership that year, and the hole-in-the-wall businesses were starting to go out of style.”
After seeing success at the Hermosa Beach location of El Gringo, Graw began expanding the chain throughout the South Bay, opening restaurants in Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach and El Segundo. The first two restaurants were equally challenging for Graw to open due to lack of experience, but, after gaining more experience, the third and fourth were much easier to open, he said.
“Although the process of purchasing a restaurant is complicated, it was easier for me due to my experience in real estate as well as being a restaurant owner of Zeppy’s Pizza for 15 years, prior to purchasing the El Gringo restaurant chain,” Graw said. “I was taught that if you put your energy into what you love, you will succeed.”
The original investors in the El Gringo Hermosa Beach location were a group of his best friends from the University of Southern California, and since then, other friends of his have invested in the other three locations, Graw said.
“When establishing a new restaurant, you are also purchasing good faith,” Graw said. “This is the belief that customers will continue to come in after you purchase it.”
Graw is a member of the Costa graduating class of 1987 and was a member of the Costa baseball, soccer and water polo teams. Graw then received his Bachelors in Communication at the University of Southern California and received his Masters in Psychology from Pepperdine University. After graduating, Graw worked in real estate and in the restaurant industry for 15 years, including his time as the owner of Zeppy’s Pizza in Hermosa Beach.
In the future, Graw hopes to continue expanding the El Gringo chain throughout Southern California and hopefully beyond, he said.
“I really enjoy opening a new El Gringo in a new town because you get to meet new people and become a part of their community,” Graw said.
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