Especially in the Bay Area, there’s an expectation that college should immediately follow high school graduation. But in Redwood City, 19 year old Jonathan Maldonado followed a late night craving, paving a different path.
Maldonado started “Fire Hibachi,” a food truck located on 1690 Broadway in Redwood City, to find a solution to this problem. Based off of his cravings for local Japanese restaurant “Sakura Teppanyaki and Sushi,” Maldonado-Sanchez sought to mimic the cuisine but in a late night and on-the-go version, with a food truck that closes at 11 p.m.
“I was craving Sakura late at night and realized that they close pretty early, and also that there weren’t any Hibachi food trucks in redwood city,” Maldonado said. “I put two and two together and I decided to try it [starting his food truck] out.”
Maldonado started Fire Hibachi in October after graduating high school at just 19 years old, with no culinary nor business experience. With money he saved up along with financial help from his parents, he was able to turn his idea into reality.
“I tried college for a little bit, but I realized that it wasn’t for me,” Maldonado said. “And I had this idea, so I figured it couldn’t hurt trying. Then I put my time into starting this business, and it’s been really good for me so far.”
Taking inspiration from Sakura and through trial and error, Maldonado carefully put his own spin on his favorite food, offering a variety of hibachi inspired dishes. “Hibachi style” refers to a Japanese style of grilling, often accompanied by fried rice and “yum-yum” sauce.
Its most popular dish is the burribachi ($21.95), which takes traditional sauced up hibachi elements (noodles, fried rice, protein etc) and wraps them in a warm tortilla. The combination of the elements, fusing different cultures, not only makes it an easy take out meal, but is yet another example of the bay area showing its history through food.
Although finding success with the dishes, other parts of the journey haven’t been as easy. Luckily Maldonado has help from his cousin, Yedie Sanchez, who is also a local business owner.
“Because I’m still young, people try to take advantage of me,” Maldonado said. “A lot of people try to overcharge me because they think ‘Oh, he’s a kid, he doesn’t know how much anything costs.’ So my cousin has been a major help with that.”
Even though the truck is only seven months old, Maldonado is excited for what comes next.
“I want to expand to other locations and have more food trucks, maybe even a restaurant,” Maldonado said. “But right now, I’m just looking into more trucks, and looking to improve our marketing, which is a big thing.”
In a community where it seems like college is the only option after high school, Maldonado is an example of someone pursuing an alternate route. He would advise any high school student not sure of what to do to go with their gut and trust their ideas.
“In the beginning it’s a bit scary, but I would say go for it,” Maldonado said. “If you have an idea and you work hard enough to pursue it, it will come to life.”
