Exporting Plate Lunch
I’m back in Hawaii and my thoughts turn to our local comfort food. Let’s see, there’s kalua pig, pipikaula, chicken long rice, chicken or pork katsu, spam musubi, chili rice, huli huli chicken … It’s all good. And our local-style foods are being exported!
Hawaii food goes international
L&L Hawaiian Barbecue announced yesterday that it has opened its first franchise in Japan. Sure, there have been many “Hawaiian” restaurants in Japan for years, some of them reasonably authentic, but others merely exploiting Hawaii’s name and image. L&L, however, is authentic and is a genuine Hawaii company that is on a fast track to franchise expansion. The company was founded in 1976 and began franchising in 1988. The business is based on the Hawaiian plate lunch, usually consisting of a main course (say, teriyaki beef), a scoop of macaroni salad and two scoops of rice (all the basic Hawaiian food groups!). L&L started exporting its stores in 1999 when it opened in California. There are now 180 L&L stores in the United States, including one in American Samoa. The company started its international expansion in 2008 when a franchise opened in Auckland, New Zealand.
Like any good exporter, L&L is modifying its menu for its first Japanese store (located in Shibuya in Tokyo). Some dishes need no changes, such as the loco mocos that are heavily in demand in Japan. Others will depend on local Japanese ingredients, so the flavors will be somewhat localized. L&L’s signature chicken katsu will undergo a name change, sold simply as a chicken cutlet, because there are so many katsu shops all over Japan. And L&L is bringing Hawaii’s Spam musubi to Japan. Ono!
