Getting to Know: Summer Salt
Atlantic Ocean versus Pacific Ocean. Knicks versus Lakers. Fast walker versus slow walkers. Biggie versus Pac. The East Coast versus West Coast debate is one that has raged for decades. There is one arena where many would give California the decided edge: Mexican food. Summer Salt founder Danny Lyu finds himself at the crossroads of this discussion.
Due to California’s proximity to Mexico, the state has become the standard bearer for many for Mexican food outside of Mexico. While the East Coast has a number of specialties including deli sandwiches, pizza and hot dogs, there aren’t too many defenders of the East Coast and specifically NYC’s Mexican offerings. But Summer Salt founder Danny Lyu finds himself at the crossroads of this discussion.
California born and raised but now living and working in NYC, Danny has heard it all and he thinks that most people are wrong.
“People say ‘there really isn't great Mexican food in New York. That makes no sense. There are just so many talented people here,” he says. “But I think what they're referring to is their experience with Mexican food in California, and that's what they're comparing it to.”
Surf's Up
Summer Salt was born out of Cemitas El Tigre in Queens, a restaurant that has been serving up tacos , burritos and ten-layer Mexican sandwiches since 2014. But Summer Salt specializes in bringing the flavors of Baja to the streets of New York. That means flavorful fish tacos and California-style burritos that are staples of the southern California surf culture that Danny grew up in.
“When I was a kid, I lived the best life in California. We had a local lake, so we'd be there literally every day in the morning. We'd surf and then, or we'd go fish depending on how the waves were,” he says. “Afterwards, we'd always go get something to eat. It was just such a really important part.”
California Mexican food has some distinct differences from its American Southwest counterpart counterpart. Typically, Cal-Mex is lighter and healthier. It features more seafood and chicken for its proteins rather than beef. The Mexican food popular in the American Southwest places an emphasis on melted cheeses and cumin whereas Cal-Mex generally features more avocado and fresh vegetables.
Loyalty & Obsession
Just like the California surf culture that Danny grew up in, the restaurant industry was always something that was close to his heart as well. His first jobs were at restaurants from the time he was 12 years old and his skills and interest would only continue to grow from there.
“I worked all different places and worked with a lot of really great folks who I bonded with and we cooked and hung out with altogether. They taught me a lot of things,” he says.
Moving to New York 20 years ago, Danny was able to find a similar camaraderie. He put together a team and began developing recipes while still maintaining a career in television production. He started out small, doing local pop ups which led to more pop ups and suddenly his side project had snowballed into something bigger.
After the birth of his first child, he had to ask himself how he could make this into a stable career. Fifteen years since he asked that question, he’s figured it out with many of the same team members that helped him get started in the first place. But they aren’t the onl;y thing he credits with his success.
“You have to have a really, really strong team. I'm just so grateful for them. But you also have to be obsessed at all times. Every single little thing that you do. And if you're not obsessed and you're not constantly pushing for the best, then it's not going to work, he says. “Even my tortillas, I get those shipped out from LA. Our chips and tortillas - we get it from all different distributors because each distributor makes one type of product really, really well. So you have to be obsessed about those little details and keep pushing at that because there's no end in sight.”
The pandemic was tough on Danny and his team but his unwavering loyalty and belief in them and the business helped them get through it.
“We were working two people at the time. One person served guests, and I would do everything else until the wee hours in the morning. I would wash the dishes. I would clean the place,” he says. “We never shut down for a single second. The people that have been with me for the past almost 15 years, they worked because they had to pay their bills. I have a lot of loyalty to them. I have a lot of responsibility to them. So we stayed open, not necessarily to make money, but to support our staff, to support the community who wanted and needed food. It was not an easy thing to do.”
And now they find themselves on a path to continued growth. According to Danny, they’ve managed to open a new location each year since 2020 and he doesn’t see that stopping any time soon.