Food truck ‘Broke Boyz’ to open restaurant at former Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse on Dowlen Road

Broke Boyz owner Paul Nguyen will open “Beaumont Food District” at the site of the old Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar.

BEAUMONT, Texas — A food truck that has operated across Southeast Texas for four years is opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant at a former steakhouse location on Dowlen Road.

Broke Boyz owner Paul Nguyen will open “Beaumont Food District” at the site of the old Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi Bar, which closed in October.

Owner Nguyen said the opportunity came through the previous property owner.

“The old owner of Tokyo said, hey, you know, I got a place for you that you can make your vision come true. It was a vision and then the opportunity kind of came together,” Nguyen said.

The restaurant will feature the existing Broke Boyz menu of wings and burgers while accommodating diverse family preferences.

“People come in with their families and you know, the kids want chicken nuggets and the husband wants burgers and the wife wants a salad, you know, you can get it all in one place,” Nguyen said.

Nguyen said the concept will be the first of its kind in the region. The restaurant will include dedicated space for outside food vendors to operate under one roof.

“I wanna build something big that brings all the food vendors together and all like different kind of experience of the food culture together,” Nguyen said.

Each vendor will have designated areas for food preparation, storage and service.

“This area will be for the vendors. So each vendor will have their own area for them to prep and to store their food, and to serve their food as well,” Nguyen said.

Nguyen confirmed several vendors have already committed to the project.

“The cold pressed juices from the press house. The other two that I can reveal is going to be Manny’s Catering, which is a Tex-Mex vendor and then we have Divine Flavor which is a Louisiana-Cajun fried seafood,” Nguyen said.

Nguyen said he has one goal for customers.

“I hope they come in hungry, and leave happy,” Nguyen said.

The restaurant is scheduled to open by the end of the year.