Meet Momoko Jackson of World Curry in Pacific Beach

Today we’d like to introduce you to Momoko Jackson.

Momoko, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
This year marks our 25th anniversary at World Curry. Whew… I would say! San Diego back in mid-90s had such different landscape for food scene from it is now and we found it quite sleepy and needed some shaking. I am from Tokyo with such diverse food culture and my husband (now a business partner as ex) had traveled all over the world, including Southeast Asia.

So together, we came up with a concept for a casual eatery that offers curries from different parts of the world. With such optimism, we opened our door in March 1995. At first, we had a large “community table” that simulated a trend in Tokyo and while people love the idea of it, it was rarely people’s first choice… our creativity and uniquely handcrafted curries got a good amount of publicity and we had mixture of nights with huge line of people out the door and lunches that with very few tables full. Excitement and fear of failure resided with each other daily. Meanwhile, we became a family of five and inevitably succeeding was our only choice.

In 2009 I knocked the door at Cardiff Seaside market with a few of our most popular dishes to see if the deli chef would use our curry for his menu. I had no Knowledge of food servicing but I believed there would be a way where there was a need. Fast forward 11 years later, we provide our fresh Thai curry paste in three different flavors to Karl Strauss brewing company, Brigantine restaurants, Bristol Farms, Mothers Market and Kitchens and other local chefs at grocery stores, restaurants and hotels. We are in conversation with casinos and university cafeterias and excited for big possibilities opening up for us.

In 2017 with the help of turmeric’s health benefit that has been widely studied and published, we gained confidence to introduce our Thai curry Paste in retail space. We branded it OH MOMO! and using only wholesome ingredients that are vegan and Gluten-free to further distinguish ourselves from other imported paste in the market. Now they are sold at a handful of local grocery stores as well as La Jolla Openaire Market on Sundays.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Struggle is every day! Just like life itself we have good days and less good days!

But overall, we had been very fortunate to have such support from curry fans, business associates and our team of curry family. Through our ups and downs, we focused on our quality in the product and relationships with all people involved. Initially, we formulated the place so that we can “quickly” multiply locations and franchise..we saw Noodles and Company with a similar concept (but with noodles) became a nationwide success and felt that we had such lack of resources. But at the end, we realized we can choose quality over quantity and that evolving and growing organically is our path.

Please tell us about World Curry.
World Curry was established 25 years ago in the heart of Pacific Beach and we offer our handcrafted curries like Tikka Masala curry, Panang curry, Green Basil curry, Keema curry, Japanese Chicken Katsu curry and so on along with a verity of appetizers that are inspired by Asian street food. We bake our naan in our tandoori oven and that’s been a steady favorite of our curry fans.

Our fresh Thai curry paste OH MOMO! (Panang, Green curry and Yellow) that we offer in food servicing and retail sizes are born of our experience and expertise and we hope to stay striving for innovation and quality of what we do.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Again, business is just like life itself to me. I know I had given my best of what I knew at the time all along the way.

If I can talk to my 30-year-old self, I would tell her, “everything will work out so don’t spend much time worried. And stay creative, optimistic, open to growing and be kind to yourself. And as you get older your wisdom will help you navigate your path”.

Contact Info:

• Address: World Curry
  1433 Garnet Avenue
  San Diego, CA 92109
• Website: www.worldcurry.com, www.ohmomocurry.com
• Phone: 8582321927
• Email: worldcurry@gmail.com
• Facebook: World curry, ohmomobyworldcurry

Image Credit:
Panang dish with Singha beer in the back is from Union Tribune article.

Suggest a story: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.

Sponsor Shoutout:
Melissa Finestone and her team at the MULK co. are Mulking it…like no udder! Jokes aside, they have created one of the most exciting, plant-based milk alternatives on the market and we strongly encourage you to check them out! Cows everywhere thank you.

Check them out at: www.themulkco.com & @themulkco