Why open one restaurant when you can have two? Family brings wings, ramen to Turlock
Sometimes you set out to open one restaurant and wind up opening two.
That’s what happened when two brothers and their brother-in-law joined forces to open both the new Fire Wings chicken spot and Daraman ramen shop in Turlock. Both restaurants opened this spring, about two months apart, and already have found fans of the wildly divergent menus.
The two attached eateries have filled the former Pizza Factory space across from Stanislaus State University on Monte Vista Avenue.
Fire Wings is a rapidly growing wings franchise based in Sacramento. The company opened its first Modesto location, in the Raley’s-anchored shopping center at Tully Road and Standiford Avenue, in August 2020. Since then, it has expanded from about 20 locations to some 50 and growing.
Daraman is a new, independent ramen shop offering the iconic Japanese noodle-based soup, and the first dedicated ramen restaurant to open in Turlock.
Both spots come from brothers Thomas and Trevor Diep and their brother-in-law Steven Ha. Thomas and Trevor grew up in Modesto and were Beyer High grads in 2003 and 2004, respectively. Their parents have owned Haney’s Egg Ranch in Ceres for 20 years.
The three men have experience running restaurants together. They opened Heat Shabu Fair Oaks in Sacramento about four years ago, specializing in Japanese shabu-shabu — a style of hotpot where meat and vegetables are dipped into a hot soup in the center of the table.
Eateries split old Pizza Factory space
Thomas said the brothers had been looking for another restaurant project to open together when the CEO of Fire Wings reached out to them about space in development in Turlock. The trio decided to open the franchise spot, and also develop the next-door space that had been created when the former 4,1000-square-foot Pizza Factory building was divided into two.
Fire Wings opened in mid-April and offers 21 flavors of wings, from traditional favorites like Buffalo and lemon pepper to Asian fusion choices including Korean Kick, Saigon Street and the spicy-sweet peanut butter (yes, peanut butter — but it’s tasty, trust me).
Fire Wings also offers chicken tenders, sandwiches, loaded chicken tender fries, salads, an assortment of fried appetizers and its signature garlic noodles. The restaurant also serves four kinds of draft beer. (Because what’s better than beer and wings, right?)
Unlike some wing places that pride themselves on serving the hottest, most face-melting sauces possible, Fire Wings offers more subtle seasonings. Even its hottest “Fire” level is manageable and flavorful. The restaurant offers dine-in, takeout and delivery through third-party apps DoorDash, Grubhub and Uber Eats.
When deciding what to do with the other space, the trio said they looked around Turlock and realized there was no dedicated ramen shop in the city. So they set about fixing that. They chose the name Daraman as a tribute to the Daruma dolls, popular good luck symbols in Japan, and a play on the phrase “da ramen.”
They offer six kinds of ramen daily: miso (soybean paste-based), shoyu (soy sauce-based), shiro (white tonkotsu pork-based), kuro (black tonkotsu pork-based), shio (salt-based) and veggie (vegetarian-broth based). Most start with a bone broth that is made in-house by stewing for 24 hours.
Daraman opens with ramen, Asian favorites
All bowls cost $14.50 and come with a variety of toppings, from pork chashu (braised pork belly) to a marinated soft-boiled egg and narutomaki (cured fish slices). You can also add extra toppings or noodles to taste.
The restaurant had a soft opening June 4, serving only its ramen bowls. This week will have a full opening of the entire menu. That includes rice and udon bowls, as well as an assortment of popular Asian appetizers from tempura shirmp and vegetables to chicken gyoza, crab rangoon and Spam musubi.
While his family heritage is Chinese and Vietnamese, Thomas said, his interest in Asian cuisines comes from his travels across the Eastern continent. He has visited China about five times and Vietnam four — primarily, he said, for the food.
Both restaurants already have found fans. In the week it’s been open, Daraman had to close early once when it ran out of broth.
Thomas said keeping the two restaurants, with separate kitchens, attached by their back hallway (they also share restrooms) was a way to give diners more options. People are welcome to order from either side, and eat on either side as well.
“That way, if you come with your kids and they want wings or chicken tenders and you want ramen, you can all be happy,” he said.
Fire Wings and Daraman, both at 1050 W. Monte Vista Ave. in Turlock, are open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
For more information on Fire Wings, call 209-620-8392 or visit www.firewings.com. For more information on Daraman, call 209-620-8359 or visit www.daramannoodles.com.
