Not Just Andagi
Nichi Bei Times - September 2004
Kaimuki Inn staff in 1938On a recent trip home, Bill Kaneko took us to Sunrise Restaurant (525 Kapahulu Avenue), one of the few Honolulu restaurants serving traditional Okinawan cuisine. Except fo' andagi, da kine Okinawan doughnuts, and purple sweet potato, I nevah even know what wuz Okinawan food. We enjoyed a great family-style meal including "traditional" Okinawan dishes such as yasai champuru, stir fried vegetables and Spam. I stay pretty sure Okinawans nevah invent Spam, but wuz ono anyway.
Afta dinnah, I wuz tinking, planny Okinawans wen come Hawai'i, but how come no can find too many Okinawan restaurants? Ho, I wuz wrong. Come to find out, get uku-planny Okinawan restaurants all ovah Honolulu.
In 2001, the Hawai'i United Okinawa Association (HUOA) and the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i (JCCH) launched the Hawai'i Okinawan Restaurants Project, a joint study to document restaurants operated by Okinawans in Hawai'i. The first phase of the project, which focused exclusively on restaurants owned by individuals who originated from Oroku, a single, small village in the southern part of Okinawa, uncovered over 70 such restaurants on Oahu, alone. Many are long gone, but names such as Aloha Grill, Columbia Inn, Kaimuki Inn and Lucky Grill, are likely to bring a tear to the eyes of old-timers.
The second phase of the study documented restaurants run by individuals from other parts of Okinawa. This list reads like a who's who of cherished local standards, including Flamingo Chuckwagon, KC Drive Inn, Kapiolani Coffee Shop, King's Bakery & Coffee Shop, Like Like Drive Inn, Ono Hawaiian Foods, Rainbow Drive-In, Jolly Roger, Wisteria and Zippy's, just to name a few.
I wuz eating at da kine Okinawan restaurants all my life and nevah know. It's because most of these Okinawan-owned restaurants served American or local dishes. Menus listed standard American coffee shop fare such as stews, roasts, cutlets, spaghetti, pork chops, and of course, the universal hamburger steak.
I asked Howard Takara, Co-Chair of the Restaurant Project, "da restaurants wuz all run by Okinawans, but how come dey nevah cook Okinawan food?" Without hesitating, Howard replied, "if dey wen serve Okinawan food, nobody would go." Howard may have a point, as popular Okinawan dishes include pickled pig's ears, pig's feet and intestines, and bitter melon. An old joke, in fact, claims that Okinawans eat every part of the pig except the "oink."
The study found that Okinawans, as they left the pineapple and sugar plantations, may have lacked formal schooling, but more than made up for it with resourcefulness, sharp business instincts and most importantly, the willingness to work hard. Moreover, the community was very tight, with individuals always eager to help a fellow Okinawan.
Two of the first Okinawan restaurant owners, Ushi Takara (American Café) and Harry Uehara (Kewalo Inn), in particular, are credited with hiring and mentoring many young Okinawans and teaching them the business. This explains why so many of the more than 200 Okinawan restaurants had similar menus. Finally, a strong tanomoshi system within the community helped to finance many of the new businesses. These three ingredients - the willingness to work hard, mentorship and capital - made up the perfect recipe for success in the tough restaurant business.
The proliferation of Okinawan restaurants in Hawai'i, is not unlike the current phenomenon of Cambodian doughnut shops in major U.S. metropolitan areas. A few years ago, the San Jose Mercury News reported that California has approximately 5,000 independent doughnut shops and that Cambodians own as many as 90 percent of those independent franchises. Like the Hawai'i Okinawans of a prior generation, Cambodian immigrants have established a network to assist newcomers to enter the business.
Unfortunately, however, many of the earliest Okinawan restaurants are long gone. Many of the first generation of restaurant owners worked hard to ensure that their children could enjoy a better life. The toil of the earlier generation allowed the next generation to escape the demanding restaurant business, to attend college to become doctors, lawyers and engineers.
Howard Takara notes, "My dad worked 14 to 16 hours a day with no vacation or days off for some ten years. His offer to me was that I help at the restaurant and he would send me to college. I learned quickly that it was much easier to push a pencil than to cook over a hot stove for a living." As a result, one by one, Bluebird Café, George's Inn, Times Grill, gradually disappeared.
In fact, it was recently reported that, after 70 years in business, KC Drive Inn, home of the famous waffle dog and ono ono shake will soon be closing.
The Hawai'i Okinawan Restaurants Project is still in the documentation phase. If you have any information that may be helpful to the Project, please e-mail either of the Project Co-Chairs, Howard Takara (het@hgea.org) or Holly Takara (hollyt@hbws.org).
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Keith Kamisugi and Kyle Tatsumoto are da Two Japanee Bruddahs. Visit them on the Web at www.twojapaneebruddahs.com. Or e-mail them at wot@twojapaneebruddahs.com.
