COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Since 2021, Formosa Bites has been working to diversify the culinary landscape in Colorado Springs by providing the city's only dedicated Taiwanese street food option and having informatice conversations with those that visit.
Owned by Terry Hsieh, the restaurant has gone through major changes since its initial opening; Formosa Bites started out as a food truck but, following mechanical issues and a timely opportunity, transitioned fairly quickly to operating out of a small storefront inside The Well in Downtown Colorado Springs.
According to Terry, who loves to cook, the inception of the business was a byproduct of the pandemic, "COVID kind of forced me into making my passion my profession as well."
However, the business has allowed Terry, and now his restaurant's general manger, Jillyn Soong, to bring an underrepresented type of cuisine into the heart of downtown Colorado Springs.
"[Folks] ask in foodie groups, and everyone is like, 'Ha, you have to go to Denver for that, it's not possible here!' But we hope to make it possible," commented Soong, "like revolutionize Colorado Springs."
Alongside that 'revolution' comes an opportunity for informative conversations, "This is Taiwanese food," said Soong, "but we're not Thai food, people get that confused."
"When I say beef noodle soup," said Terry, "the first question people ask me is, 'is that Pho, is it anything like Pho?' I say no; and if you just say no then people will say, 'I like Pho but I don't like this [or] I may not like this so I'm not going to try it.' But if you go into the explanation of how the dish is made, people, in general, are more prone to accept and give it a try."
It's those conversations and explanations that Terry believes will help assist the City of Colorado Springs in acquiring a more diverse culinary scene.
"The more diverse we are, the more of an attraction we are going to be; it's only going to benefit everybody in the food and beverage industry or even just the residents of Colorado Springs."
Looking ahead, Hsieh hopes to some day open his own standalone business where he can host a version of the night markets found in Taiwan.
For more information on Formosa Bites, CLICK HERE.
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