Reporter: Bianca Smith
•8/10/2026
CAPE CORAL, Fla. (WINK) — From waiting in line at a food truck to opening up a brand new restaurant, Buddha-Bachi Express is giving Cape Coral customers a new way to enjoy its hibachi favorites.
What started as a food truck serving hibachi around Southwest Florida has officially grown into a brick-and-mortar restaurant at 2209 Santa Barbara Blvd., Unit 107.
The family-owned business spent the past several years building a following from its mobile kitchen and through their social media, serving customers throughout Cape Coral, Fort Myers and surrounding communities. The owners previously operated multiple hibachi restaurants in Columbus, Ohio, before bringing the Buddha-Bachi Express concept to Southwest Florida.
Now, customers can get the same hibachi flavors in a permanent spot.
"It's so nice to have a comfortable place for our customers," owner Tina Scott said. "I didn't think we would have a lot of dine-in guests because we're express style, but all these tables fill up. When I talk with people, they say they stay because it's so fun inside."
The fast-casual restaurant serves made-to-order hibachi bowls with options including steak, chicken, shrimp and vegetables, paired with either fried or steamed rice.
If you're having a hard time choosing just one protein, Scott has a solution: go big.
Her recommendation is the Big Buddha Bowl, which comes loaded with steak, shrimp, chicken, fried rice and vegetables.
But there's another ingredient that has been getting plenty of attention: the sauce.
Buddha-Bachi Express makes its signature Yum Yum sauce in-house, using a family recipe that Scott said has been around for about 30 years.
"The sauce is 30 years old. It was created by my husband's mother," Scott said. "The feedback is wonderful and that it has its own taste. Our sauce is thicker and not overly sweet."
And while the restaurant serves up hibachi, Scott said the concept is designed to make the experience a little easier and quicker than a traditional hibachi dinner.
"This is a more accessible version of hibachi," Scott said. "You don't have to sit down for two hours and get the food. It's a grab-and-go place, but people do love to sit down to eat."
The menu goes beyond hibachi bowls, with fried dumplings, veggie spring rolls, edamame, bubble tea and mochi ice cream also available.
The new storefront keeps the quick-service spirit that made the food truck popular while giving customers a place to sit, eat and hang out.
For Buddha-Bachi Express, the move marks a new chapter for a business that started on four wheels and is now becoming part of the Cape Coral community.
And for local hibachi fans, there's one big perk: You no longer have to chase down the food truck to get your Buddha-Bachi fix.
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