Growler USA microbrew pub aims to tap into local tastes

Hawaii soon will be home to one of the first Growler USA microbrew pubs — pubs that, perhaps shockingly, offer no long-necked bottles and serve no fried food.

“A microbrew pub is what we are,” concept founder and CEO Dan White told TheBuzz.

The beers, served on draft from up to 100 taps, will all be regional and local microbrews. Growler USA also will serve hard ciders, mead, handcrafted sodas, cold-pressed coffee, Kona coffee and kombucha tea, to name most of the craft beverages to be offered.

The local franchisee is Bill Muneno. Yes, he is related to KHON-TV news anchor Kathy Muneno. They are siblings.

Growler USA will be the only restaurant on the ground floor of the Hee Hing building on Kapahulu Avenue, with a planned opening in the first quarter of next year, Muneno and White said.

The design of Honolulu’s Growler USA still is being finalized, so the exact number of taps it will have is not certain, but White is confident in the technology behind it.

“We use the most sophisticated beverage delivery system that’s been created to date,” he said.

Wine will be offered by the glass not from a bottle, but via tap.

“It’s a tremendous way for people who enjoy wine to get the full flavor,” he said. The company also has done research with its vintners to determine the best pressure to use for delivering each wine, White said.

As the microbrew pub’s name indicates, growlers, or take-home jugs, will be offered from $8.99 to $11.99 for the 32-ounce size and $16.49 to $19.99 for the 64-ounce size.

Not a beer person? No problem. Growlers can be filled with other beverage choices, except for wine.

The Honolulu Growler’s (and you know we local people are going to call it that) will offer customized growlers, T-shirts and other merchandise celebrating local culture. The items will be limited-release and will be frequently refreshed.

Pub grub typically conjures up images of food upon which physicians frown, being scooped up with a deep-fryer basket and brought to your table after the briefest of grease-draining moments. “We don’t fry anything,” White said.

Each location will get to customize its menu for its own market’s tastes, but to give you a basic idea, the menu on the Growler USA website lists sandwiches, burgers, roasted chicken wings, fire-roasted Tater Tots with various flavorings, flatbread pizzas and something called a pan-chilada, comprising flour tortillas, ground beef, red chili, jalapenos, cheese and enchilada sauce, served in an iron skillet.

“I may not have mastered microwave popcorn yet,” but White does enjoy good food, he said. The menu was designed by corporate chef Garey Hiles so that each kitchen can prepare and present food that will make customers “want it again.”

“Being a pub, we are not a sports bar, we are not a let’s-go-get-hammered bar,” White said, explaining that “the true definition of a pub is a public gathering place.”

In days of old, public houses — as they were called — housed political gatherings, even criminal trials, and women often gave birth in a pub because it was in the center of town, so medical help was nearby, he said.

Having said that, the “event screens” will show sports but also political or other newsworthy events, said White.

Muneno had been looking for franchise opportunities through a contact who “sent me a bunch of prospective franchises to look at,” he said. After a few months of reviewing and researching them, he chose Growler USA.

Likewise, Growler USA, with a location open in Eugene, Ore., was looking for franchisees, White said. Growler USA is on the prowl for locations in all 50 states and has 20 locations in development.

“I think of the franchise organization as a bit of an ohana,” White said. “I know that having done this before, the system is going to run a lot smoother if everyone who wears the uniform follows the playbook and adds to it.”

White hand-picks every franchisee, and given Muneno’s “demeanor, personality and background … I came to that conclusion pretty easily,” he said.

Muneno worked for Longs Drugs for 15 years, spending the bulk of that time in management roles. He also worked for Coca-Cola for 18 years “of which probably 10 were spent working with restaurant owners,” he said. In the food and beverage industry, “you see lots of businesses come and go,” and learn a great deal about why that is, Muneno said.

Muneno’s commitment is “just the one store,” he said. However, White added, “we won’t add another franchisee in the state of Hawaii” without Muneno’s OK. “He’s my go-to guy in Hawaii, and he’s got first right of refusal,” White said.

On the Net:

>> growlerusa.com

Reach Erika Engle at 529-4303, erika@staradvertiser.com, or on Twitter as @erikaengle.