Hibachi 2U Brings Fun Dinner Parties to Backyards on Long Island and Beyond
Hibachi 2U, a business idea born out of friendship during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic on Long Island, has expanded nationwide in the three years since it began.
Co-founders Matt Miller, an Oceanside native, and Chef Soy Sauce, of Levittown, are the brains behind Hibachi 2U, which brings the delicious food and fun experience of a hibachi restaurant to customers’ backyards.
“In the beginning it was a huge craze because we would have a party at my friend’s house every week and everybody on social media is like, ‘How can I do this?’” Miller tells the Press.
Chef Soy Sauce, a former chef at Kashi in Rockville Centre, was out of a job when Covid first hit. He and Miller had been longtime friends ever since Miller frequented Kashi. After Chef Soy told Miller that he served hibachi at someone’s home, Miller ran with the idea.
“I told him, ‘why don’t we just do this as a full time business?’” Miller recalls. “Once it started rolling, all the other [former restaurant] employees wanted to work for us. So it allowed us to expand out to different states and now here we are. Looking back on it it’s kinda crazy how we did it.”
The concept is simple: Hibachi 2U brings the hibachi grill, food, and chef. The customer provides a table, chairs, plates, and utensils. For $50 per person, or $25 per child under 12, each guest gets a side salad, hibachi vegetables, fried rice, and two proteins of their choice. There is a $500 per party.
The business now has dozens of chefs working for Hibachi 2U in more than 15 states in the Northeast, Southwest, and Southeast part of the country. Like Chef Soy Sauce, each chef has a fun name and comes with unlimited sake for guests 21 and older.
Though spring and summer are Hibachi 2U’s busy seasons, Miller says that they operate all year round because some parties have outdoor tents during the wintertime. Hibachi 2U also has a Franklin Square storefront for takeout orders only.
“We do a lot of parties Out East in the Hamptons, Montauk – people love that,” Miller says. “A lot of bachelorette and bachelor parties. It’s a good way for families to get together, instead of going out to a restaurant and being in the comfort of their own backyard.”
The co-owners note that the business has given former restaurant chefs more freedom to spend time with their families because they have a more flexible work schedule at Hibachi 2U.
“I’m so happy and so proud because I’ve created jobs for my friends, for my family,” Chef Soy says. “I don’t wanna say I changed their life, but we changed their lifestyle. We don’t have to work for an Asian restaurant for 10 hours a day anymore. We work for 7 or 8 hours. The job is easier.”
To book Hibachi 2U at your next party, visit hibachi2u.com.
