We recently connected with Shirell Gallegos and have shared our conversation below.

Shirell, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

The name Home Girl’s Hibachi was created by bringing a bit of my own rough past and Hispanic culture and turning it into a mix of Japanese & Chicano cultures and flavor.

Growing up in NM, I made some mistakes that a lot of youth out here do. I’ve always been say- “a little rough around the edges”. Even during the hardest times of my life, one thing never changed- my love for food. Owning a food truck has always been a dream of mine. When I married Faith, it became a dream of hers too.. When Faith and I were brainstorming names for our new venture, we knew we had to bring Chicano culture into it as well as a piece of ourselves. We thought of SEVERAL names before deciding on the one. The Home Girl’s name gave us the ability to showcase who we are, and also do what we love at the same time.

People love it. Patrons walk up to the window all the time and say “Ayyy Home Girls! Wassup!?”

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Our names are Shirell & Faith Gallegos. Combined we have about 20 years experience in the restaurant/ service industry.
I began cooking when I was really young. My mom cooked nearly every meal we ate when we were kids. Everything she ever made was amazing. I knew I needed to learn to cook so I could have food just as good as hers. Though my mom’s food was always the best, there is a restaurant that sticks out to me. A teppanyaki grill that used to be in my hometown of Santa Fe, NM. It was my favorite and I knew I had to learn how to cook that kind of food.

Fast forward 20 some years….After coming up with a concept and a name, we knew we wanted to be the best we could be and wanted to be different than the competition. We spent months learning to cook food that could satisfy my biggest critic- myself. After several attempts with different ingredients, we decided to go with halal meats. The quality is just unmatched. But-we couldn’t stop there. All of our meats are hand cut & trimmed daily. We wanted to make sure that we provided the highest quality hibachi meal possible, not just pump out as many plates as possible. Quality over quantity. We are happy to be able to serve a product we are proud of. Thats what separates us from others.

Have you ever had to pivot?

We owned an insurance agency and one day woke up and realized how unhappy we were and knew something had to change.

I’ve always wanted to open my own restaurant establishment and my wife and I knew that if we wanted to be happier we needed to follow our dream. Starting a business and new life path is scary but we are determined to make it work. Now, we are at our next turning point- expansion.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

For us, our customer’s experience is so important! Quality, consistency, and communication is our top priority. This helps make a strong connection between you and your clients based on trust.

While offering a quality product and great customer experience are extremely important, that’s only part of the reason we have grown so fast. You can’t forget to do simple marketing and advertising. Don’t be afraid to talk to people. Hand everyone you meet/ talk to a business card. Post on social media daily. Do community events. We currently do all of our own and so far it seems to be working.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/homegirlshibachi?igsh=MTZmazBwNHkxNXU4Ng==
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HomeGirlsHibachiFoodTruck?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Other: TikTok- https://www.tiktok.com/@homegirlshibachi?_t=8qAJC2CKbLa&_r=1