Mylee Anderson

While Guo enjoys working with his family, he has some of his own aspirations as well. “It depends [if] we’re still doing [well]… then yes, I’ll take it over, but if not, then I guess [when Chen] wants to retire, we’ll either sell the business or close it down and I’ll try to open my own restaurant,” Guo said.

Behind the endless line at the counter and the smells of chicken, rice, and varied Japanese cuisine stands a Wando alumnus from the class of 2022, Vincent Guo. Ever since he was 13, Guo has worked at Umi with his mom as his boss. Although some may find it petrifying, to Guo, it is actually the perfect job for him.

“My mom is my boss, but I can be like ‘Hey mom, I can’t work on the 14th’ and she’s like ‘Okay that’s fine as long as you tell me in advance.’ So…it’s nothing like a corporate job, which I’m very grateful for. Having my mom as my boss is pretty awesome,” Guo said.

Many students at Wando are aware of the dynamic duo that is Guo and his mom, Coco Chen. They are also aware of Umi’s close proximity to Wando, which has made it a well-known staple amongst the student body, as they will take the short drive over to grab a quick bite to eat—sometimes at times they aren’t supposed to—and this is something that Guo often sees while on the job.

“[Students] come in pretty much every day… I think it’s a compliment to us [because] it’s like [dang]… if you want to skip school to come get [food], [it’s] gotta be good, so it makes us feel good about ourselves,” Guo said.

However, Guo is not the only face that students recognize. Junior Victoria Bailey works as a waitress at the student-favorite restaurant.

“Shifts are really short. They are only two and a half hours and you can basically work whenever you want,” Bailey said.

While on their respective shifts, Guo and Bailey are likely to see devoted Umi fan, junior Cameron Horlback, walk through the door at the same time as they hear the signature chiming, signaling a new customer. It took Horlback a while to try Umi, but ever since he tried it for the first time, it has been his go-to for a quick meal.

“One day I was working and… one of my coworkers [said to me], ‘Hey I’m [about] to go to Umi for lunch break’ and I was like, ‘Oh what’s that’ and then they [said], ‘It’s right here’ and then I was like, ‘What are they? What do they have there?’ and they [responded with] ‘Japanese food’ and I was like ‘Okay, I’ll give it a try,” Horlback said. “It took like a week or so, but I eventually remembered to go, and I went there for the first time and I’ve been going since.”

Even though he can only be there for minuscule amounts of time when he dines at Umi, Horlback has the opportunity to experience the positive impact that Guo captivates over the establishment.

“He’s a very warm person and when you walk in… you could feel… the warmth like radiating from him… he brings a lot of good to Umi,” Horlback said.

Like Horlback, Bailey does her own thing while at Umi, but she is able to see how much respect people have for Guo.

“A lot of the customers there, they know Vincent and… he’s able to connect more with a lot of customers and also with… the older folks as well… and he’s also like very understanding… with customers,” Bailey said.

When Guo took a trip to Clemson, he was stunned by the fact that people recognized him and knew who he was.

“I went to Clemson and I had like a dozen different kids come up to me and be like ‘Oh my gosh, no way, you work at Umi right?’,” Guo said.

Having people recognize him on the opposite side of the state, and without Umi being a franchise restaurant, really does go to show Guo how much love people have for Umi and their iconic family recipes. Guo knows that if the booming restaurant were to ever close or Chen was to retire, he would not disappoint his loyal customers.

“If people come tell me the food is bad, I’d say that’s a lie because I have an army of high school students that would argue against that,” Guo said.