A few months ago I wrote about how several Hawaii hotels came to have their names. This month I thought I’d explore how several restaurants in town came to have their monikers. There’s often an interesting back story to restaurant names.
But first a quiz: Which ice cream parlor’s name means "grandmother" in Yiddish? Which restaurant name means "fish impression" in Japanese? Which means "banana leaf boat"?
Which restaurant’s name referred to the spray that comes off the bow of a ship? Which was named for Alabama football coach Paul Bryant?
Bubbies Homemade Ice Cream
This ice cream parlor’s name means "grandmother" in Yiddish and is named for founder Keith Robbins’ grandmother Esther, the woman who introduced him to the frozen treat. Founded in 1985, its slogan is "Shouldn’t you be licking something?" It has stores in Manoa and Hawaii Kai. Bubbies ships its mochi ice cream all over the world.
Gyotaku
Former Kyotaru executives started this company in 2001. "Gyo" means "fish," and "taku" means "impression" Gyotaku refers to the Japanese art of making prints from fish. Co-founder Tony Sato changed the kanji character of "taku" to one that means "table," so Gyotaku can also mean "fish on the table." It occupies the former Suehiro location on King Street as well as Pearl City, Niu Valley and Aikahi.
Kozo Sushi
"Ko" means "little" or "tiny." "Zo" means a "little boy." A long time ago Japanese retailers had an internship system. They hired young boys, mostly from poor families, with no salary, and those interns were called "kozo." Kozo Sushi was launched in 1972 in Osaka, Japan, and has been in Hawaii since 1980. Today it has more than 1,300 stores in Japan and five in Hawaii.
Masu’s Massive Plate Lunch
Masu is Paul Masuoka. He credited then-KCCN disc jockey Dave Lancaster with adding "massive" to the name during an ad campaign. He and James Grant Benton (part of the comedy trio Booga Booga) would sample that day’s special and play it up on the air.
Founded in the early 1970s as Livingston Food Service, the business focused originally on catering. Plate lunches were the sideline but soon took over. For under $7 one of my favorites was Frank B. Shaner’s Aloha Friday Bento: charcoal-broiled sirloin steak, baked baby lobster tail, fried chicken, shrimp tempura, baked Spam, shoyu hot dog, rice, and crab potato salad. It weighed 3 pounds and easily fed two.
Masu’s started near Keeaumoku Street where Walmart is today and moved to Liliha and Kuakini streets in 1982. It closed in 2007 when the building it was in was sold.
The Pig & The Lady
Andrew Le, who was born in the Year of the Pig and has a tattoo of a pig on his arm, founded the Pig & the Lady (his mother, Loan Le). While flying from Vietnam to Arkansas in 1975 nine months pregnant, her water broke. The plane made an emergency landing in Honolulu, where she gave birth to Andrew’s older brother, Anderson, at Tripler Medical Center. The family decided to stay in Hawaii. They can be found at farmers markets and on King Street in Chinatown.
Spindrifter
Jolly Roger bought Reuben’s at Kahala Mall and hired a consultant to come up with possible names. Spindrift is the spray that comes off the bow of a ship. Former manager Biff Graper says it was chosen because it was a single word and was uplifting. Spindrifter closed in the late 1990s, and a Barnes & Noble bookstore took over its site.
Suehiro
"Sue" means "end," "edge" or "further" in Japanese. "Hiro" means "expansion." Its fan logo is the symbol of further expansion in the future and long-lasting prosperity of its business. However, that did not keep it from selling its King Street location to Gyotaku in 2001.
Sushi Sasabune
"Sasa" means bamboo leaf, and "bune" or "fune" is a boat. In Los Angeles, New York and at 1417 S. King St., patrons have to trust the chef to choose their sushi. It credits Yohei Hanaya with creating sushi 300 years ago using fish from Tokyo Bay, which he sliced and put on bite-size, vinegared rice balls.
Yummy Korean Bar-B-Q
Peter Kim left the gridiron for the restaurant business. Kim graduated from Kaiser High School, played football for the University of Hawaii, the University of Alabama and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. An injury sidelined his kicking career.
In 1985 he founded Yummy Korean Bar-B-Q. He now also owns Liliha Bakery, Chowmein Express, Lahaina Chicken Co., Bear’s Kitchen, Steak and Fish Co., Cheeseburger Factory and Mama’s Spaghetti House. Bear’s Kitchen is named in honor of his former Alabama football coach, Paul "Bear" Bryant.
Kim opened Signature Prime Steak & Seafood atop the Ala Moana Hotel in 2013, bringing the number of restaurants in his domain to 48.
Bob Sigall, author of the “Companies We Keep” books, looks through his collection of old photos to tell stories each Friday of Hawaii people, places and companies. Email him at Sigall@yahoo.com.
