Before the owners of Maui Express, Dave and Ivonne Hedrick, moved back to Dave's home town of Kansas City, they lived several years in California, where they became avid fans and loyal patrons of the Teriyaki Bowl restaurant.  They found it to be a surprisingly flavorful and nutritious eating alternative when something fast and affordable was needed.

In an exasperating quest to find quality fast food that was healthy and tasty, they often commiserated about the lack of a Teriyaki Bowl restaurant in Kansas City.  Although they found the Kansas City fast food market to be amazingly vibrant, with the national chains dominating all major traffic intersections, it was frustrating that beyond the McDonalds', Wendy's, Burger King's, Hardees', Subway's, Taco Bell's and Kentucky Fried Chicken's, there were few alternatives.

Since their lifestyle increasingly relied upon the convenience and affordability fast food provided, Kansas City's limited choices turned them into frustrated consumers.  Dave even contacted the headquarters of the Teriyaki Bowl chain they had patronized in California to inquire about its expansion into the Midwest.  He was disappointed to learn that although it was in the midst of a very aggressive expansion program, increasing the number of outlets from 100 to 500 over the next five years, moving into the central part of the country was not included in their "existing expansion plan".  

Witnessing the vitality of the Kansas City fast food market and hearing of the success of the California Teriyaki Bowl chain, Dave and Ivonne were amazed that no one had brought a similar concept to the Midwest.  But they remained confident its arrival would be imminent.  After more time passed with no Teriyaki Bowl restaurant, they became more aggravated that they and other deserving Kansas Citians were being deprived of this healthy fast food alternative.

Their desperation and desire evolved into a passion to bring Teriyaki Bowls to Kansas City.  After spending several years researching the market and evaluating other Teriyaki Bowl operations throughout the country, they came up with a hybrid that seemed to best suit the needs and desires of the Kansas City market.  Maui Express was thus born.