LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Growing up in Louisville, Rudy Bamba noticed the city was missing the flavors and experiences passed down to him from his parents, immigrants from the Philippines.
"To me, [Filipino food] tastes like home," Bamba said. "It tastes like sitting in my mom's kitchen or in the backyard with my dad."
Despite a love for Filipino food, Bamba never planned to start his own business until, like many others working in the restaurant and bar business, he found himself out of work during the coronavirus pandemic.
"What can I do? I need a job," Bamba said. "I tried to get a job but nobody's hiring."
So Bamba and his family turned to something he was familiar with — making Filipino food.
"When we would have birthday parties for the kids, I would make lumpia and pancit and our friends would come over, so that was what I liked to eat at home," Bamba said.
Bamba started off rolling eggrolls, or lumpia, in his own kitchen before renting a commercial kitchen space. And as business began to boom, he moved Bamba Eggroll Company into its own food truck earlier this year.
"I don't need to get a job, I have my own," Bamba said. "And I can share Filipino food with everybody."
Bamba Eggroll Company is one of the first Filipino restaurants in Louisville, allowing Bamba to not only share good food, but his Filipino culture in a place were it can be hard to find.
"To see Filipino food come up in the Google search when you search food in Louisville, with Filipino food, you see Bamba Eggroll. That's me," Bamba said. "I'm like, I did that. I brought it here."
So, Bamba will continue working in the tiny kitchen of his food truck, sharing a piece of himself with his community.
"When you eat something here, you're going to smile," Bamba said.
For Bamba Eggroll Company's upcoming schedule, click here.
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