Restaurateur Peter Kim recalls as a teenager seeing people emerge from fancy cars upon arrival at a swanky steak restaurant called Little George’s, and dreaming of the day he could afford to eat at a place like that.
The thought of owning such a restaurant had yet to enter his imagination. Now, nearly 50 years later, Kim will soon have two steakhouses to his name.
Kim — owner of a restaurant group that includes The Signature Steak & Prime Seafood, Yummy Korean B-B-Q and Liliha Bakery — is replacing his hot-pot venture on Nimitz Highway with a second steakhouse.
Little Joe’s will open in early March, replacing Umamiya Shabu Shabu at 58 N. Nimitz Highway, Kim told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Wednesday.
The name is inspired by Little George’s, a ’70s-era steakhouse on Ala Moana Boulevard across from the Gold Bond building, Kim said. “I never got there; it closed before I had any money. I didn’t want to copy their name, but it’s how I got the idea.”
Kim said Umamiya, which he opened four years ago, was the “best hot pot in town,” but the trend has seemingly run its course and business is lagging. But good steak never has a down cycle, he said. “Steak appeals to everybody’s style.”
The transformation involves much more than replacing hot pots with steak knives. “We’re completely changing the kitchen layout,” Kim said. “And the interior will have a little more Hawaiian feel, local style.”
The property covers 7,000 square feet, and Kim plans for six private dining areas that seat six to 45 people. The adjacent Liliha Bakery branch will be untouched.
Kim said Joe’s should augment, not replace, Signature, which he opened in 2013 atop the Ala Moana Hotel. He envisions it as something between “the Mortons of the world” and an Outback Steakhouse.
“We will try to deliver value for the entire family yet at the same time be a date-night place or somewhere to celebrate an anniversary,” he said. “We know what Hawaii people like: great service, great food. And there will be a candlelight ambience and, most of all, real value.”
He already has his first special planned: “We will be opening with a three-course dinner: our 16-ounce New York steak with soup or salad and homemade creme brulee for $29.95.”
Beer prices will start at $3.50, he said, and wine at $6.95 per glass.
“I want this to be a gathering place for people who enjoy good food and drink at a reasonable price,” he added. “We want our lounge to host the best happy hour in town.”
Steaks — including rib-eye, T-bone and filet — will be aged six or seven weeks. A seafood lineup will include miso butterfish, salmon, scallops (including “dynamite” style), crab and lobster tails.
Classic appetizers like shrimp cocktail and standards like French onion soup will be on the menu, too, he said.
Lessons learned in the early days at Signature will help this venture, Kim said.
“We’re doing very, very well (at Signature),” Kim said. “Little Joe’s is more moderate pricing, but the process is very similar. At Signature we learned through experience. And that will be applied at Little Joe’s, too.”
Kim said Little Joe’s will have about 60 employees and that Umamiya employees will be kept on in the company.
“We’re anticipating it will be busier, so we’d like to keep everybody,” he said. “Training starts Feb. 3. Everybody will be well trained.”
