SAN MARCOS – Long invested in the food scene in San Diego, brothers Peter Yang and Mike Wu are expanding the Shabu shabu “food-print” to North County.
The two Scripps Ranch High and UC San Diego alums took over their parents’ Mongolian Hot Pot restaurant in Clairemont Mesa then opened their first Shabu-Works restaurant in Mira Mesa in 2017 and expect to open their second Shabu-Works in San Marcos later this month.
Co-founder
Shabu-Works
Shabu-Works, a 4,350-square foot establishment, is taking over the space formerly home to Panera Bread in Creekside Marketplace, off Grand Avenue in the heart of San Marcos.
Yang said they heard from Shabu-Works and Mongolian Hot Pot customers about traveling from other parts of San Diego specifically to dine at their restaurants, and they saw an opportunity to draw from a growing base of guests driving down from North County.
“There’s really nothing like it up there and a lot of movement in the area,” Yang said. “Our new location will make it more convenient and accessible for our guests, and we also hope to expose the Shabu experience to new guests.”
Like many restaurants and restaurateurs, COVID-19 was filled with challenges for Yang and Wu. But since coming out of the pandemic, the restaurant has experienced double-digit annual growth and continued positive feedback from their customer base.
“We attribute this focusing on the fundamentals,” Yang said. “Premium products, friendly services to provide exceptional guest experience.”
Co-founder
Shabu-Works
The family’s Mongolian restaurant also was one of the first in the county to “employ” robots as servers, but Yang said using robots has “not proven worthwhile” and while they are open to technology, the brothers have shelved the idea for the time being.
“They are a fun addition to the team and robots can help with certain tasks, but we still believe great service comes from a real smile and warm hospitality from a human being,” Yang said.
Restaurant Business Savvy
Yang and Wu are no stranger to business, or success.
Yang and Wu were co-founders of Pokéworks, the leading Poke concept in the United States, which launched 70 restaurants across the U.S., Canada and Taiwan. Both currently serve on its board of directors. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree in 2018, Yang was also featured by Fast Casual Magazine as one of the nation’s top 25 executives in 2019.
Wu was also formerly the CEO of Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot, a national hot pot chain with 25 locations across the U.S. He was also honored by Fast Casual Magazine as one of the nation’s Top 25 executives in 2019.
Together the two have either by themselves or with partners co-founded a variety of other dining establishments, including fast casual Ojai Burger in Orange and a plant-based fast casual spot.
“We find a lot of joy in opening restaurants just because it’s such a dynamic and creative thing to do,” Yang said. “We love designing restaurants and creating these different venues.
We find a lot of joy in it. At the end of the day, it’s a people business and very labor intensive in terms of having the right manager, the right staff, the right back of house staff and building the team. It’s difficult but we find it fun.”
Steeped in all types of dining experiences, Wu said the lack of specific hot pot dining choices in North County opened their eyes to the need to grow their reach.
“We are thrilled to expand Shabu-Works’ footprint in San Diego and serve even more communities,” Wu said. “Although we’ve opened restaurants in many other cities, San Diego holds a special place in our hearts. It’s where Peter and I grew up, went to college and planted our roots.”
Fueled By Food Memories
Yang said he and Wu grew up in a family that loved cooking and dining. He said one of his cherished memories is being surrounded by my family and grandparents at the dining table.
“Laughter and heartfelt conversations filled the air,” he recalled. “It was a moment of love, togetherness and profound happiness. My early exposure to happiness and joy was often tied to food, and I think that’s why I find myself dedicated to this industry — I get to do what I love, and I get the opportunity to create environments and experiences for others to feel the same joy.”
Yang is the younger of the two brothers and uses the surname of his maternal grandfather to keep the family name alive. Older sibling Wu keeps their father’s family’s last name.
Yang and Wu’s parents, an interior designer and an architect, emigrated from China to the United States in 1995, and said that between language barriers and other challenges, left behind their previous careers for the restaurant business.
Yang said back in 2006, when the family launched the initial hot pot restaurant – reportedly the first one in San Diego County – the concept was still very new to the U.S. market.
“We had a loyal following from the Chinese and Asian communities, but it was relatively unfamiliar to others,” Yang said. “Over the years, we invested in marketing, public relations and education to bridge the gap and to introduce our food to a broader audience. Through it all, we remained confident in our product, offerings, and gained invaluable insights and experiences.”
Different Style of Cooking
Shabu shabu is a Japanese-based way of cooking that involves diners at their tables cooking their own meals – swishing vegetables and thin slices of raw proteins (beef, tofu) into hot herbal broths, and Yang and Wu have been winning over diners for more than 15 years.
Similar to Chinese-based hot pot cooking, shabu shabu uses a lighter broth with other slight differences in cooking styles and dipping options.
Shabu shabu cooking was once “very niche and not well known” in the United States, but Yang said its popularity has grown significantly through time.
“The exciting thing for us is that when we first opened, no one knew what the heck it was but with a lot of education over the years, it’s become popular with a lot of diners,” he said. “Most diners these days know what it is now. I believe people enjoy the freshness and fun in eating hot pot with friends and family.”
Shabu-Works guests first select a broth for their hot pot – including garlic miso tonkotsu, spicy curry, sukiyaki, sichuan ma-la and three vegetarian- and vegan-friendly options.
Customers then choose from a variety of premium meats, fresh seafood, fresh vegetables, tofu and other add-ons, including ramen noodles. Shabu-Works also serves teriyaki chicken, karaage chicken, Japanese curry and fried rice.
Shabu-Works
FOUNDED: 2017
CO-FOUNDERS: Peter Yang, Mike Wu
HEADQUARTERS: San Diego
BUSINESS: Restaurant
GROWTH: Business has seen double-digit growth and will open third restaurant in the fall
EMPLOYEES: 40
WEBSITE: shabuworks.com
CONTACT: 858-860-5730
SOCIAL IMPACT: Minority-owned family business
NOTABLE: Highest-ranked and reviewed AYCE shabu shabu/hot pot restaurant in San Diego
