Located in Pacific Rim Plaza II, a small specialized grocery store named One Step Food Market has captured local attention by offering a wide variety of uncooked and premade barbecue skewers alongside essential communal cooking supplies. Owner Yaodong Guo, who previously worked in real estate and mobile gaming after moving to the Bay Area from Hebei, China, in 2009, launched the store to simplify the time-consuming preparation traditionally required for hosting gatherings with friends. Rather than making multiple stops to cut meat, source charcoal, or find specific hot pot ingredients, customers can find everything in one location—including mini grills, chimney starters, seasoning blends, dipping sauces, and drinks.
Extensive Selection of Skewers and Ingredients:
The store currently offers 16 different types of unmarinated skewers to give customers full control over flavoring, featuring specialized cuts sourced from places like Australia and New Zealand such as lamb kidney, squid tentacle, pork intestine, chicken hearts, beef aorta, tongue, brisket, shoulder, and short rib. Walls inside the shop are decorated with instructional diagrams to help patrons identify various meat cuts, while fridges are neatly sorted by categories like skewers, thinly sliced meats, side dishes, and hot pot toppings. Guo also prepares items like fish balls, duck feet, and tofu onsite in the store’s kitchen and plans to expand the menu with future additions such as chicken skin, beef tendon, rice cakes, and small yellow fish.
Community Reception and Future Expansion Plans:
To promote the shop ahead of its official opening through the end of August, Guo operated a temporary outdoor setup in the parking lot cooking Chinese barbecue meat skewers, selling over 100 daily while drawing positive feedback from North San Jose residents like Norma Villarreal. Although outdoor cooking has concluded to prevent disruptions to neighboring businesses, Guo intends to maintain a high variety and quality of in-store selections. Looking ahead, he plans to open a second smaller outpost in Cupertino or Sunnyvale supplied directly by the San Jose location, alongside launching a fresh catering service for events.
