Byron’s Drive-In on Paiea Street closed Thursday after 47 years in operation. It was an end of an era that began in 1955 and stretched to 17 restaurants. Many people don’t know the extent of Andy Wong’s empire, because his restaurants operated under so many different names. He didn’t want to put all his eggs in one basket.
Wong was one of Hawaii’s top restaurateurs. He opened first business — Leon’s at Kailua, a tavern — in 1955. The 27-year-old called himself a barkeep, says daughter Lori Wong.
While many business owners opened branches of their restaurant in different neighborhoods, such as Zippy’s, Ba-Le or L & L, Wong had 17 different restaurants, and few knew they were all related. "He thought it was too boring to do the same thing. Multiple restaurants also gave him flexibility with lessors, since he never knew when he would lose a lease," Lori Wong recalls.
Andy’s Drive-In opened in 1957 on Oneawa Street in Kailua. "Whenever I meet somebody who grew up in Kailua, they always tell me their favorite Andy’s addiction," Lori Wong muses. "Oyster burgers, shrimp burgers. The Little Red Hen — Henny Penny Chicken. When my brother, Byron, visited us, he headed straight to Andy’s for a slush shake."
A year later, Wong opened Andy’s Ebb Tide and, in 1959, opened Joe’s in Waikiki. The Coral Reef at Ala Moana Center followed in 1960.
He named restaurants for himself (Andy’s Drive-In, Andy’s Ebb Tide, Andrew’s and Wong’s Okazu-ya), his sons (Byron’s Drive-In, Byron II, Orson’s Bourbon House in Kailua, Orson’s Restaurant in Ward Warehouse) and his wife, Marian, whom he teasingly called a Fishmonger’s Wife.
Big Ed’s was a Jewish deli at Ward Centre. It was named for his landlord, Ed Hustace, who was tickled to have his name on a restaurant.
"Several of his restaurants were firsts for Hawaii. Orson’s Bourbon House in Kailua was Hawaii‘s first New Orleans-style restaurant," says Lori Wong. "Joe’s at Waikiki was the first to serve pasta in the islands, in 1959."
"Dad thought restaurants needed strong, masculine names — bear names — to succeed. When Mom gave birth to Orson in 1970, dad wanted to name him Boris. … Mom wanted to name him Scott and refused to leave the hospital with Boris. They compromised on Orson Scott Wong. ‘Orson’ means ‘bear.’"
When I last talked to Lori, Byron was living in Hong Kong, and Orson was in Los Angeles.
Andrew Wong was born Yip Yau Wong. How did he get the name Andrew? "Dad used to say he went to the bank and drew and drew and drew."
Wong collected menus from all over the world and styled Hawaii restaurants on those he liked elsewhere. Orson’s Seafood Restaurant in Ward Warehouse was modeled after Scoma’s famous seafood restaurant at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. Byron II was styled after the House of Lords in Las Vegas.
Wong’s Okazu-ya in Ala Moana Center (1966) sounds like a clash of cultures, but Lori says her dad wanted an okazuya. And it was a gift to Marian, who managed it.
Andy Wong died in 1985, at 57, of cancer. "On his deathbed he asked for a chili burger," Lori recalls. "I take one to his grave occasionally, along with a miniature Johnny Walker."
Lori and Marian Wong continued the tradition and opened several restaurants, notably Oinks at Ward Centre, The Fishmonger’s Wife and Orson’s Chowderette at Ala Moana, and the Chinese Chuckwagon.
Byron’s Drive-In was the last of their empire. They now join the ranks of Spencecliff and Trans-Pacific restaurants: chains that are gone but not forgotten. Thanks for 58 years of ono grindz, Andy, Marian and Lori.
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Bob Sigall, author of “The Companies We Keep,” looks through his collection of old photos to tell stories each Friday of Hawaii people, places and companies. Email him at Sigall@Yahoo.com.
