A restaurant in Las Vegas is not only where locals missing Guam cuisine can go, but also a place serving up a huge portion of that Hafa Adai Spirit. Joan Aguon Charfauros has more on Red Rice.

It's one of the many places you can go stateside if you are craving authentic flavors from Guam. Owners Carmen and Frank Tenorio along with their children have definitely made a name for themselves offering up a piece of home on recipes handed down from generation to generation.

Their son Christian Tenorio, who was born on Guam, was recently on island to do some networking and stopped by kuam to talk about how Red Rice came to be. "My mom was actually one of the first vendors at Chamorro Village," he recalled. "She told me they would allow her a six-foot table and just a 10-x-10 space and she sold everything for a dollar - whether it was empanada, manha tatiyas, tamales gisu, tamales mendioka....the whole nine yards, honestly."

They would move to Northern California, where the family continue serving up the island flavors with catering and selling out of the local shops there. In 2005, they made the decision to move to Las Vegas with hopes of a better opportunity.

"Every Saturday we sold empanadas, buenolos aga, and we finally decided to open Red Rice," said Christian.

The decision seemed to just make sense, after all, his mom had been cooking her entire life and had been a familial affair. "Even my grandma catered to the Japanese tourists when they would go to Cocos Island, because i'm from Merizo. Everytime the tourists would make a stop, they would cook for them, so I kind of grew up around food. I think I started cooking shrimp patties when I was in 3rd grade and I would be the one like frying it," he said.

In December 2014, Red Rice held a soft opening - no signage, just an invite to family and friends. Through the power of social media, word slowly started to spread about the restaurant dishing up generous portions of great food and the Hafa Adai Spirit.

Christian remembered, "We had a grand opening on January 3 the following year and over 400 people showed up, and it's been a blessing since."

When walking into the restaurant, you feel like you're at home and ready to enjoy a great meal-- whether its shrimp patties or lumpia, kelaguen, or any of their plates that's loaded with fiesta favorites like BBQ spareribs and chicken, oh and of course red rice.

For over seven years, red rice has continued to thrive, winning 'best In Las Vegas 2022' in the Cultural Food category, and even receiving high praise from popular food vloggers and influencers.

"Honestly, it's the love for the love and the food," he said. "The restaurant business isn't easy."

"You make a lot of sacrifices along the way. I remember working volunteering when I was in high school - I missed out on a lot of things...at the end of the day, what's the future, what's the long term? A lot of people don't have the hustle, or they can't make those sacrifices. I'm just blessed between my brothers and my parents are the hardest workers I know."

If you happen to be in Vegas or want to know more about their story as well as their menu, visit redricelv.com or follow them on Facebook under Red Rice and Instagram - @redricelv.