Jason Chen moved to Texas from San Francisco nine years ago after the cost of living started to become unaffordable, he said. He first worked as a truck driver, but he said his family wanted him to be home more often.
After missing the type of island-inspired barbecue eateries that he said can be found more commonly on the West Coast, he and his sister Crystal Luo ventured into the restaurant business for the first time and opened Hawi Hawaiian BBQ Express in Cy-Fair in September 2017.
Chen said West Coast natives are familiar with Hawaiian plate lunches consisting of steamed rice, macaroni salad and teriyaki-style barbecued meats, but Cy-Fair residents did not have access to such meals at the time.
“Three years ago, we went back to San Francisco to visit friends and mentioned that we missed the food in a friend's Hawaiian barbecue restaurant,” he said. “She said, ‘Why don't you open one in Houston since there is no Hawaiian barbecue?’ I thought that would be a good idea too, and that is how we started.”
