Two immigrants from the Philippines open Bay Area’s first K-pop store

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — May is Asian American Pacific Island Heritage Month, and KRON4 wants to celebrate Bay Area residents. In San Francisco, Chesca Rueda and Kevin Teng are co-owners of Saranghello, a K-pop store located in the Sunset neighborhood.

Both immigrated from the Philippines in their early 20s. While settling down in San Francisco both Rueda and Teng felt culture shock.

“Growing up in an Asian country and moving here, I was suddenly the minority,” Teng said. “It made me feel insecure and question my identity.”

“I didn’t feel like I was accepted when I first moved to the United States.”

Rueda added, “Walking around and not feeling at home was really hard. Moving here, we literally had to leave everything we knew behind, including our family and friends.”

“I wanted to connect with more people from the Philippines, and that’s when I met Kevin,” Rueda said. When Teng arrived, Rueda was one of the first people he met in San Francisco.

South Bay tech workers quit jobs to run Cybertruck-powered coffee shop 

“She took me to different events around the city,” Teng said.

They quickly became good friends along with Pip Reyes, Rueda’s husband, another co-owner of Saranghello. The three of them represent a significant ethnic group of the Bay Area, which has one of the biggest Filipino populations outside of the Philippines, with many families moving here often for “the American dream.”

But what is the American dream?

Is it owning a house? Or running a business? Or even being “successful.”

Rueda and Teng’s definition is creating a space where everyone feels at home and feels that they belong.

“Making money and owning a house, there’s nothing wrong with that, but the context for the American dream has changed,” Rueda said. “It’s now elevated. It’s about getting to know people and embracing cultures. That’s why I love what I do. I want to participate and experience as many different cultures and places. That’s why we’ve created this safe space for others.”

Saranghello started during the COVID-19 pandemic — the first K-pop store in the Bay Area. The goal was to make K-pop more accessible to Bay Area residents.

Although both of them love the store, it wasn’t Rueda or Teng’s original plan.

K-pop shop in SF helps revive Sunset District economy

Right before the COVID-19 lockdown, Rueda was about to start teaching when the pandemic caused a hiring freeze, and Teng had just left his job as a software engineer.

It was during the lockdown that Rueda voiced the idea of a K-pop store. Teng liked the idea, and along with Reyes, they started Saranghello as an online store.

At their first Holiday pop-up, Saranghello had people lining up every day to look at albums and K-pop merchandise. They realized that people were looking for a safe and welcoming space to enjoy Korean culture and music.

They realized they had the chance to create something bigger than a pop-up.

“There was just so much potential in the Bay Area,” Rueda said. “There are so many people like me that can connect to each other through K-pop. Even though we’re American or from different countries other than Korea it’s a way of connecting and creating a community.”

Since the pop-up, the Saranghello family has grown to a large storefront on Taraval in the Sunset neighborhood with many hardworking employees.

“The people we’ve hired are some of the best people in the world. They’ve become my family here,” Rueda said.

Most of the staff was hired a year ago as the store kept growing in size, and Saranghello needed to hire more people to keep up with customers’ demands.

The sense of belonging and the feeling of community is also seen in the store’s staff.

“You can see that our staff loves K-pop. It’s a true passion. It’s not a restaurant job,” Rueda said. “They put their heart into the work here. They want to help the store grow. They innovate and they help us to come up with new events for the store.”

“They see our mission to build community and they’re helping the good parts of the industry to grow.”

Both Rueda and Teng are very family-oriented. When they both told their families that they were opening a K-pop store, at first, their families didn’t understand.

Two Japanese immigrants successfully start art business in San Francisco

“The last time my mom came to the store she said, ‘seeing how the (Saranghello) community interacts, it’s amazing what you guys are trying to do,’” Rueda said.

“Often, it’s generational differences. My parents wanted me to be strategic and efficient in the jobs I chose,” she continued.

But now, both of their families are proud of them.

“I never expected to hear it, but my mother said, ‘I’m proud of you.’ And it made me so happy,” Teng said. “She raised me and my siblings so well, so if I can make her proud that’s enough for me.”

While reflecting upon the past four years, both Teng and Rueda are proud of what they have accomplished so far. They said perseverance and a good mindset will get you your dream.

Both Teng and Rueda said that in the United States, there are more opportunities.

“Here I can do something as long as I work hard,” Teng said. “Moving to America I’m fortunate that I’m surrounded by people who would help me. There’s more opportunities here than back in the Philippines, and I could say yes to all of them.”

The store is celebrating major milestones this year.

On Friday, May 24, SarangHello is partnering with KCON, which puts on K-pop conventions and concerts around the world. They are partnering with KCON LA to host an event here in San Francisco for K-pop fans on Friday.

The event at Saranghello will feature free boba for the first 100 customers, local K-pop vendors, and photo card trading.

This month Saranghello is also celebrating its fourth anniversary. On Saturday, May 25, Saranghello will be giving away free boba and photo cards. The store will be offering Saranghello tote bags for customers who spend $25.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4.