- What do Benihana, Steve Aoki,
and this soft-core adult magazine have in common?
They were all created by a trailblazing entrepreneur
who definitely knew how to party.
1945, Japanese chef Shigeji Fujioka develops teppanyaki,
a style of cooking using giant iron griddles
with Western-influenced cuisine.
It's not popular with locals,
but catches on with American tourists
who enjoy the familiar food
and watching the chefs cook in front of them.
We're simple people.
Around the same time, Yunosuke Aoki,
the descendant of a samurai,
opens a coffee shop with his wife, Katsu.
He calls it Benihana, named after the red flower he found
in the rubble of war-torn Tokyo.
Soon, their coffee shop turns into a successful restaurant.
And they have a son, Hiroaki,
who always dreamed of being rich and famous.
In case you were wondering,
he became super-rich and very famous.
In the late 1950s,
Hiroaki has high hopes of being a rockstar,
and plays bass in a band called the Rowdy Sounds.
He soon gives up his dream because, well, he sucks,
and picks up wrestling for his high school,
which really works out.
In 1960, Hiroaki qualifies
for the Japanese Olympic Wrestling Team
and moves to the US to attend Springfield College
on a wrestling scholarship.
He also changes his name to Rocky.
1963, Rocky studies restaurant management
and earns some extra bucks
by driving a Mister Softee truck around Harlem
selling ice cream with tiny Japanese umbrellas on top.
He saves $10,000 to open up a restaurant of his own
and gets the rest of the funding from his dad,
who gives him one key piece of advice,
"Turn teppanyaki cooking
into an unabashed American spectacle."
So, Rocky asks his chefs to become showmen,
preparing meals live over an iron griddle,
performing knife tricks,
tossing shrimp into grandpa's mouth,
and of course, making those fun little onion volcanoes blow.
1964, in New York City,
Rocky officially opens his teppanyaki restaurant.
He calls it Benihana after his father's joint.
The first six months are brutal.
No one cares about Benihana,
but in 1965, his luck turns around
after Benihana receives a rave review
from New York Herald Tribune food writer, Clementine
"Don't Call Me Oh My Darling" Paddleford.
The buzz grew to a roar with visits from celebrities
like Muhammad Ali and The Beatles,
and the restaurant becomes a hit.
In the early 1970s, Rocky's star rises,
and he looks to expand his empire and his own fame.
He opens more Benihana locations and Club Genesis,
a six-story disco/French restaurant
that was basically his own personal Studio 54
with plenty of sex, drugs, and backgammon.
The club bleeds money and closes a year later,
but Rocky continues the Genesis legacy
by releasing a soft-core porn magazine of the same name.
Yes, seriously.
By the early 1980s, Benihana is a boom
and with 50 locations across the world
and a line of frozen dinners.
Meanwhile, Rocky is still doing his wild (beep).
He creates a Miss Benihana Beauty Pageant.
He wins a Backgammon World Title.
He breaks the world record
for the longest continuous hot air balloon flight.
He races cars in Europe,
almost dies when he crashes his speedboat
under the Golden Gate Bridge,
and drives across the country sitting in the Jacuzzi,
inside his stretch Rolls Royce,
all while writing and directing
the 1985 box office smash hit "The Goonies."
OK, we made the "Goonies" thing up,
but the rest is totally true.
Anyway, during all of this, Rocky fathers seven children,
including actor Devon Aoki and DJ Steve Aoki.
Yes, Rocky is Steve Aoki's dad.
The 1990s, Bill Clinton gets impeached,
everyone wears flannel for a few years,
and Benihana continues to grow in popularity,
becoming a top destination
for middle school birthday parties and awkward first dates
and inspiring other teppanyaki chains across the country.
1999, Rocky pleads guilty to insider trading
and has to give up his control of the company.
Damn.
2008, Rocky passes away at the very apt age of 69.
At the time, Benihana is estimated
to be worth over $100,000,000.
A bitter battle between his wife and his children
erupt over his estate.
But honestly, we don't have time to go into that right now,
so here's another picture of Steve Aoki.
2013, Rocky Aoki appears as a character
in Martin Scorsese's "Wolf of Wall Street."
He would have just loved that for so many reasons.
Started by an intrepid entrepreneur
who just wanted to party,
introduced an entirely new blend
of dinner and entertainment to Americans,
thank you, Benihana, for proving that all you need to succeed
is a little showmanship and a whole lot of fried rice.