Sacramento entrepreneur · Vietnamese American
Mini Nguyen & Trinh Le
Owners, Station 16, Firehouse Crawfish and Daikon Korean BBQ
A chef and her husband who built a family of Sacramento restaurants: Station 16, three Firehouse Crawfish locations and Daikon Korean BBQ.
Mini Nguyen and her husband, Trinh Le, own a family of Sacramento restaurants: Station 16 in Midtown, three Firehouse Crawfish locations and Daikon Korean BBQ in Natomas. Sactown Magazine describes Nguyen as Station 16’s chef-owner and Le as her partner in Firehouse Crawfish.
By the numbers
The data
Their restaurants by neighborhood
Sources: Firehouse Crawfish and Daikon Korean BBQ websites; Sactown Magazine.
The story of Mini Nguyen & Trinh Le
Firehouse Crawfish tells its own origin story plainly: in 2011 a firefighter gave up the career he had worked for to help his girlfriend open a restaurant. The couple later married, and the restaurant’s Cajun seafood boils, sold by the pound with house sauces and heat levels, grew to three locations: Savings Place in South Sacramento, Delta Shores and Natomas.
In 2016 Nguyen opened Station 16 at 1118 16th Street, in the former Sapporo Grill space in Midtown, with a seafood-forward menu. The couple then added Daikon Korean BBQ, an all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue restaurant at 3636 North Freeway Boulevard in Natomas, which also houses a Firehouse Crawfish counter.
Their restaurants cover four corners of the city, from Midtown to Delta Shores, and pair two very different formats: made-to-order seafood and all-you-can-eat barbecue.
Milestones
- 2011A firefighter leaves his career to help his girlfriend open a restaurant: Firehouse Crawfish.
- 2016Station 16 opens at 1118 16th St. in Midtown.
- LaterFirehouse Crawfish adds Delta Shores and a Natomas counter inside Daikon.
- TodayDaikon Korean BBQ serves all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue in Natomas.
Companies and ventures
Lessons for business builders
- Two partners with different strengths can run more concepts than one owner alone.
- Put a proven brand inside a new one: Firehouse’s counter at Daikon shares rent and traffic.
- Tell your origin story; customers remember the firefighter who changed careers for love.
Sources
Photo: Firehouse Crawfish (firehousecrawfish.com). Figures marked firm-reported come from the company; all others from the sources above, checked November 2026.
