L&L Hawaiian Barbecue
A Hawaii-origin restaurant franchise centered on plate lunches and Hawaiian-inspired comfort food.
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Overview
L&L Hawaiian Barbecue is a Hawaii-origin restaurant franchise associated with the Hawaiian plate lunch and a menu that combines local Hawaiian food traditions with Asian and Polynesian influences. The chain is also known as L&L Drive-Inn in Hawaii and is commonly shortened to L&L. Its food format typically consists of a substantial entrée served with two scoops of rice and macaroni salad, reflecting the everyday plate-lunch culture that developed in Hawaii through the interaction of local, Asian, Pacific Islander, and American culinary traditions. The business traces its origins to 1976, when Eddie Flores Jr. purchased a small L&L Drive-Inn at 1711 Liliha Street on Oahu for his mother, Margaret Flores. The restaurant retained the L&L name even though the new operation was not connected to the earlier business associated with that name. Flores remodeled the property into a small walk-up restaurant for his mother to operate. Johnson Kam subsequently joined Margaret Flores as a partner and acquired her remaining shares in 1977. After the original restaurant established itself, the partners expanded to additional locations on Oahu and elsewhere in Hawaii. Flores later returned as a business partner with Kam and helped develop the Hawaiian operation through franchising. By 1988, the company was actively franchising in Hawaii, and by 1997 it had approximately 30 locations across the state. The company’s mainland strategy began in 1999. After observing that Hawaiian-style plate lunches could attract customers in the San Francisco Bay Area, Flores and Kam opened the first mainland location in October 1999 at Puente Hills Mall in the City of Industry, California. Because the term “drive-in” could suggest a different type of restaurant to mainland customers, the brand adopted the name L&L Hawaiian Barbecue outside Hawaii to make its culinary identity more explicit. California became the base for a wider mainland rollout, beginning with Los Angeles County and expanding into Orange County in 2000. Further openings established the brand in Oregon, Nevada, Washington, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and Alaska. L&L also tested locations in the Eastern and Central United States, including Connecticut, New York, Florida, Texas, Illinois, Michigan, and Tennessee, although several individual restaurants later closed. The company extended its reach to American Pacific territories and international markets, with openings reported in American Samoa, Guam, New Zealand, Japan, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Some of those international or territorial locations subsequently closed, while Japan remained an identified international market. The menu’s best-known offerings include Hawaiian plate lunches, chicken katsu, kalua pork, Korean-style beef short ribs, loco moco, saimin, and Spam musubi. L&L states that Spam musubi joined its menu in 1999, and the snack became a particularly visible expression of the chain’s connection to Hawaii’s local food culture. In 2021, the company established August 8 as National SPAM Musubi Day. The chain has also received trade-publication recognition for regional strength, growth, and franchise performance, and in 2012 it published a cookbook presenting recipes associated with its restaurant menu. Reference material describes L&L as having more than 230 locations across the United States, with additional international presence in Japan. The brand’s positioning rests on accessible, counter-service food, generous portions, recognizable Hawaiian flavors, and a franchised operating model rather than on formal full-service dining. Its principal identity remains tied to Hawaii even though most of its geographic expansion has taken place outside the islands.
History
L&L Hawaiian Barbecue began in 1976 with Eddie Flores Jr.’s purchase of an L&L Drive-Inn at 1711 Liliha Street in Honolulu, Hawaii. Flores acquired the restaurant for his mother, Margaret Flores, and maintained the L&L name while remodeling the site into a small walk-up operation. Johnson Kam later joined Margaret as a partner. In 1977, Margaret sold her shares to Kam, who continued developing the business. The original restaurant’s success supported expansion to multiple locations in Hawaii. Flores eventually returned as Kam’s partner and contributed to the company’s franchising program. Hawaiian franchising activity was underway by 1988, and the chain had grown to about 30 Hawaii locations by 1997. During this period, the business established the basic format that would define the brand: large plate lunches built around rice, macaroni salad, and a meat or seafood entrée, with recipes reflecting Hawaii’s multicultural food environment. The company began its mainland expansion in 1999. In early June of that year, Kam and Flores observed that a former employee was selling Hawaiian-style plate lunches successfully in the San Francisco Bay Area. They interpreted that performance as evidence that the cuisine could travel beyond Hawaii. In October 1999, they opened the first mainland L&L restaurant inside Puente Hills Mall in the City of Industry, California. The mainland name was changed to L&L Hawaiian Barbecue because the word “drive-in” could carry different associations outside Hawaii and did not clearly communicate the company’s Hawaiian culinary focus. California became the starting point for expansion across the Western United States. Restaurants opened in Los Angeles County and Orange County, followed by locations in Hillsboro, Oregon; Henderson, Nevada; Lynnwood, Washington; Mesa, Arizona; Provo, Utah; Aurora, Colorado; and Anchorage, Alaska. The company also pursued Central and Eastern markets. Locations were opened in Connecticut, New York, Texas, Illinois, Michigan, Tennessee, and Florida, although some of these individual restaurants later ceased operating. The chain’s first Florida location opened in Jacksonville in 2017. L&L also experimented with territories and overseas markets. A location opened in American Samoa in 2008 and another in Guam in 2014; both later closed. The company opened its first international restaurant in Auckland, New Zealand, in 2009. Japan followed with a Tokyo location in 2010 and another near Enoshima in Fujisawa, Kanagawa, in 2017. Other reported openings included China in 2013, Malaysia in 2014, Indonesia in 2015, and the Philippines in 2015. The Indonesian location closed in 2017. These openings demonstrated the portability of the brand’s Hawaii-themed concept, although the international network was less extensive and less consistent than its United States footprint. Menu development remained central to the brand’s identity. L&L’s plate lunch combines two scoops of rice and macaroni salad with a principal meat or seafood item. Its offerings include chicken katsu, kalua pork, Korean-style beef short ribs known as kalbi, loco moco, saimin, and Spam musubi. The company identifies Spam musubi as a menu item introduced in 1999, helping make the snack one of its most recognizable products. In 2021, L&L designated August 8 as National SPAM Musubi Day, turning a menu item into a recurring cultural and promotional reference point. The company’s growth attracted trade recognition. In 2002, Nation’s Restaurant News named L&L among its regional powerhouse chains. Restaurant & Institutions ranked the brand among the largest United States restaurant chains in 2005, while Restaurant Business listed it among that year’s leading growth chains. Entrepreneur also ranked L&L Franchise, Inc. among its top franchise companies in 2005. In 2012, Flores published an L&L cookbook featuring recipes associated with the chain. Reference material describes the active system as having more than 230 United States locations and an additional presence in Japan. L&L remains defined by a Hawaii-rooted menu, franchised distribution, and an accessible quick-service format.
- 2021
National SPAM Musubi Day is established
[1]L&L designated August 8 as National SPAM Musubi Day.
- 2010
First Japanese location opens
[1]The first Japanese L&L restaurant opened in Tokyo’s Shibuya area.
- 2009
First international location opens in New Zealand
[1]L&L opened its first international restaurant in Auckland.
- 1999
Mainland expansion begins
[1]L&L opened its first mainland restaurant at Puente Hills Mall in the City of Industry, California, and adopted the L&L Hawaiian Barbecue name outside Hawaii.
- 1997
The Hawaiian network reaches approximately 30 locations
[1]The chain had expanded across Hawaii before beginning its mainland rollout.
- 1988
Franchising begins in Hawaii
[1]Eddie Flores returned as Kam’s partner and helped develop L&L’s Hawaiian franchising system.
- 1977
Johnson Kam becomes the principal partner
[1]Margaret Flores sold her shares to Johnson Kam, who continued the restaurant’s development.
- 1976
Eddie Flores Jr. acquires the original L&L Drive-Inn
[1]Flores purchased the Honolulu restaurant at 1711 Liliha Street for his mother, Margaret Flores, and remodeled it as a walk-up restaurant.
Products and positioning
A Hawaii-themed, counter-service restaurant franchise bringing plate lunches and other local-style Hawaiian comfort foods to mainland and selected international markets.
Main meal
Hawaiian Plate Lunch
The core L&L format consists of two scoops of rice, a scoop of macaroni salad, and a meat or seafood entrée. It represents the chain’s interpretation of Hawaii’s everyday plate-lunch tradition and provides the structural basis for many menu combinations.
Snack · 1999
Spam Musubi
Spam musubi combines grilled Spam with rice and a seaweed wrapper. L&L identifies the item as part of its menu since 1999, and the snack has become one of the brand’s most recognizable Hawaii-associated offerings.
Main entrée
Chicken Katsu
Chicken katsu is a breaded and fried chicken entrée served within the chain’s plate-lunch format. It reflects the Japanese influence present in Hawaii’s local food culture and is among the menu items used to introduce that style of comfort food to mainland customers.
Main entrée
Kalua Pork
Kalua pork is a Hawaiian-style pulled or shredded pork preparation offered as a plate-lunch entrée. At L&L it functions as a direct link to traditional Hawaiian flavors while remaining suited to the chain’s quick-service format.
Main meal
Loco Moco
Loco moco is a Hawaii-associated comfort-food dish and one of the local specialties represented on the L&L menu. Its inclusion broadens the brand beyond barbecue by presenting a familiar island-style meal in a fast-casual setting.
Main entrée
Korean Beef Short Ribs
Korean beef short ribs, also referred to as kalbi, are a grilled beef offering influenced by Korean cuisine in Hawaii. The item illustrates L&L’s use of Asian-Pacific flavors alongside conventionally Hawaiian dishes.
Noodle soup
Saimin
Saimin is a Hawaii-associated noodle soup shaped by Asian culinary influences. Its presence on the menu gives L&L a soup offering that complements the heavier rice-based plate lunches and reinforces the brand’s local-food positioning.
Marketing campaigns
- 2021National SPAM Musubi Day
United States
L&L designated August 8 as National SPAM Musubi Day, using one of its signature snacks to highlight Hawaii’s local food culture and the item’s popularity.
Outcome. The observance became an identifiable annual brand and food-culture milestone associated with L&L.
Brand decisions
1999
Adopt the L&L Hawaiian Barbecue name for mainland restaurantsStrategyBackground
The company was preparing to expand from Hawaii to California, where the term “drive-in” could suggest restaurant characteristics different from the intended Hawaiian plate-lunch concept.
Action taken
L&L retained its established identity but added “Hawaiian Barbecue” on the mainland to communicate the cuisine and geographic theme more directly.
Aftermath
The renamed concept supported the chain’s subsequent expansion across the United States.
1999
Add Spam musubi to the menuProduct launchBackground
Spam musubi is strongly associated with Hawaii’s local food culture and fit the chain’s portable, counter-service format.
Action taken
L&L introduced Spam musubi as a menu offering.
Aftermath
The snack became one of the brand’s recognizable products and later formed the basis for National SPAM Musubi Day.
Recent events
- 2021
L&L establishes National SPAM Musubi Day[1]
Campaign · Other
L&L designated August 8 as National SPAM Musubi Day to recognize the popularity of the Hawaii-associated snack, which had been part of the chain’s menu since 1999.
- 2012
L&L publishes a branded cookbook[1]
Other
The company published "$266 Million Winning Lottery Recipes: L&L Hawaiian Barbecue Cookbook," written by Eddie Flores Jr. and illustrated by Jon J. Murakami.
- 2005
L&L receives restaurant-industry growth and franchise recognition[1]
Other
Trade publications ranked L&L and its parent franchise business in restaurant-chain, growth-chain, and franchise lists.
Sources1 sources
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