Man upgrades business from his driveway to a restaurant
During the pandemic
By Jaysha Patel
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LONG BEACH, California (KABC) — Mexihanas Hibachi Grill is a restaurant in Long Beach offering Japanese food with a Mexican twist.
“Everyone was selling tacos, everybody was selling tortas, menudo, and pozole, so I wanted to bring to my city something that we didn’t have,” said Martin Luzanilla, the owner of Mexihanas.
During the pandemic, Martin Luzanilla was struggling financially. So he decided to take a chance and start Mexihanas, selling food out of his driveway.
“The pandemic hit, jobs were out the door. We were down to our last $2,000 in the bank and we had no other way of income or resources of income, and it was either pay the rent or get a business started that was going to help us provide for our family,” added Luzanilla.
Martin used social media to post about his food. He started off selling 10 plates, then 35, and business grew from there.
Martin did this for about a month and a half before renting out a restaurant.
His hard work has paid off and now he has his very own restaurant.
“We serve steak, chicken, shrimp, lobster, fried rice, mixed vegetables, garlic noodles, and our world famous tuna,” Luzanilla shared.
Martin says one of his goals now is to give back to the community that helped him get his start.
Recently, he helped give away backpacks to kids ahead of schools reopening.
Martin said thanks to all the love from the community, he has a second location coming soon.
“The location is going to be 2222 Palo Verde. You guys are the first to know,” Luzanilla said.
Mexihanas is located at 1782 Martin Luther King Jr Ave, Long Beach, CA 90806.
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