Physician-turned-cafe-owner Yolanda Quam provides ‘fuel for the body & soul’ at San Clemente’s The Fuel Shack

Yolanda Quam — a retired pediatrician, medical director and now the owner of the Fuel Shack restaurant in San Clemente — is also a certified laughter yoga instructor.

“Oh my God, it’s hilarious; they do it every day in Laguna Beach,” Quam said. “It looks like [really happy] people walking around in a circle laughing. My husband first saw it, and he told me about it because he knew that I would be one to participate.”

She led a 30-second bout of laughter over the phone, to demonstrate how fake laughter quickly turns into real laughter, which triggers hormones like oxytocin, serotonin and dopamine that elevate one’s mood.

Moods needed lifting that day. It was March 17, the coronavirus pandemic was just starting to take hold, and the O.C. health officer had ordered all dine-in restaurants and small gatherings to be shut down.

It was also day 467 of the Fuel Shack, which she and her husband David Quam, also a retired physician, opened in December 2018.

Yolanda’s daily morning routine included updating the number, so even if locals were panicking and buying all the toilet paper from Costco, she could remember exactly how long she had been living her dream of having her own restaurant.

Though she didn’t know it at the time, three days later, they would close and not open again until July 7.

David would soon be called out of retirement to help set up and staff a new hospital space to prepare for the possibility of overflow COVID patients.

To protect Yolanda, who has diabetes and is therefore immunocompromised, David had a diligent decontamination routine before entering their home, as well as a bag with at least two weeks worth of clothing and necessities in case he worried he had been exposed and needed to quarantine somewhere else.

Yolanda worked as the medical director of the nonprofit Kids Come First Clinic in Ontario, serving children without health insurance, before she left in 2015. David was previously the area medical director and chief of staff for the Kaiser Permanente Fontana and Ontario Medical Centers for about 12 years.

“I did medicine for 25 years, and I did not get tired of it,” Yolanda, 60, said. “I just wanted to see what else life had to offer.”

Her grandma Mary, who grew up in Louisiana, was the “unofficial caterer” for her extended family until she got sick, and then Yolanda took over.

“My grandmother shared joy through food,” Yolanda said. “She didn’t care how full you were when you got there, you were going to have an eating good time. And you could just taste the love and care and heart and soul that she put into what she prepared.”

Because her grandmother didn’t measure things — “it was always a pinch of this, a little bit of that” — Yolanda had to figure out how to quantify the measurements.

Before Mary passed away in 2002, Yolanda successfully figured out the recipe for her sweet potato pie: “She tried it and gave me two thumbs up.”

Yolanda was born in L.A. and raised in Carson and lived in Chino Hills for over 30 years, until she decided she wanted to open her own restaurant.

In San Clemente, she found the small community hangout spot she was looking for, and she and David decided to move to San Juan Capistrano a couple years ago.

While they didn’t have the funding for marketing, many locals heard about them when a couple men broke into their restaurant, along with several other stores, less than a year after they opened.

“People came out of the woodwork,” Yolanda remembered. “‘We read about what happened. That’s not us. We’re here to support you.’ It was so heartwarming. I still get choked up about it.”

Earlier this year, the Fuel Shack was chosen as #13 of Yelp’s Top 100 places to eat in the U.S. for 2020.

“I did not know that this was a goal to attain, that the top 100 list even existed,” Yolanda said, unable to contain her squeals. “People were coming from all over. It was crazy; we were so busy.”

The Fuel Shack has a seating area that’s only about 300 square feet. But what it lacks in size, Yolanda makes up for in energy.

When she was a pediatrician, she would wear a belly dancing hip scarf with hanging gold coins that would clink as she walked down the hallway. She’d try to get the sometimes-nervous children to dance with her before doing their examinations.

Now, at the Fuel Shack, she has three decorated megaphones (one that’s a gold-plated with fur and rhinestones) that she used to take out when she thought anyone looked like they needed some cheering up.

“I say, ‘Hey if you’re happy about anything in your life today, I want you to raise your hands up in the air and wave them like you really do care,” she chanted. “And they look at me, and I’m like, ‘Hey I think you can look happier than that. Say heyyy, say hoooo. Hey ho, hey ho.’ Like we’re at a concert.”

She explained that she was on drill team in high school and was the announcer during the half-time shows. No noise complaints so far, she said.

“I also like to give left-sided hugs,” she said. “I call those my heart-to-heart hugs. Our hearts touch, and you can feel that kinetic energy right there. People come in for those hugs, but now we’ll have to do virtual hugs.”

The Fuel Shack menu included items she used to cook at home, adapted for larger batches: kickin’ chicken tinga waffle sliders, nutella dream waffles, five kinds of avocado toast, grilled cheese and a variety of breakfast and veggie bowls.

While they are currently limited to to-go orders, their menu is simpler, and now includes bagel sandwiches, the Fuel Shack salad, acai bowls, and fresh bakery items, including Auntie Carol’s Wanna Nanna Nutty Wuddy Banana Bread with Yummy Wummy Frosting.

Their head barista James Mata, who she calls their “coffee whisperer,” is in charge of the coffee, which he grinds to order and includes a double shot of espresso.

“People will remember the food they ate, but they’ll remember more how they felt while they were eating,” she said.

Nowadays, she goes into the restaurant early to help their kitchen manager Richard Ward prep but she only stays until about 8:30 a.m., so there is a full-size cardboard cut-out of her so customers can feel her presence, even when she’s not there.

On the cut-out is an empty speech bubble that her staff helps her fill out. On Wednesday, it said “Today is day #613! Today is indeed a great day to be happy!”

David, who is no longer working at the COVID hospital, was the one who encouraged Yolanda to follow her dream of opening her own restaurant, and he runs the Fuel Shack’s Instagram page.

It’s full of photos of Yolanda, alongside loving quotes like “You bring light and love to the world in a way that no one else can” and “May your day be filled with as much love as this beautiful woman brings to me every day.”

“Honestly, I’m just being me,” Yolanda said. “I was a cheerleader for my sons, I’m a cheerleader for life … they wouldn’t let me be a cheerleader in high school in the ‘70s because I couldn’t do the splits, but I’m excited every day I wake up in the morning.”

She sees similarities between serving the the community as a pediatrician and taking care of her customers through her restaurant’s food.

“I was fueling the body [toward good health] back then, and now I’m still fueling the body and soul,” she said. “I think it’s one and the same. “

IF YOU GO

What: The Fuel Shack

When: Tuesday through Sunday, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. (temporary hours due to the coronavirus)

Where: 360 Camino De Estrella, San Clemente

Information: (949) 388-4015; thefuelshack.com

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