June 2024

Monthly News & Updates

Chairman's Message

Dear Members,

Despite the challenges of the pandemic in 2021, we stayed resilient and even grew in 2022. In 2023, we celebrated our progress and immense growth, and now in 2024, HRA is aiming even higher. We are a group united by our love for restaurants, good food, and great people.

As the leader of the Hawaii Restaurant Association, it has been an honor to serve alongside you all. As my term comes to an end this month, our journey together continues. It has been another vibrant year, and our enthusiasm remains as strong as ever. Now it is about passing the torch to someone who can lead us even better. I am thrilled to introduce our new chairman, Andy Huang, who brings both experience and a strong desire to serve.

I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to our many sponsors, including HMAA, Y. Hata & Co. Ltd., ERC Today, Hawaii Gas, First Hawaiian Bank, Heartland, First Insurance Company of Hawaii, Pepsi, American Savings Bank, Bank of Hawaii, and Superorder. These sponsors have made all our events a huge success.

I also want to thank our HRA administrative team, especially Sheryl Matsuoka, for her dedication to our success and her outstanding team. Special thanks to Holly Kessler and all our associates—Ginny, Jaylina, LorMona, Namele, and Dana—for their calm and effective problem-solving, which has been incredibly valuable in making all our events successful.

I appreciate my executive team and my mentors—Victor Lim, Tom Jones, and Tambara Garrick—as well as our past chairman, Ryan Tanaka, for their guidance as executive board members. Their expertise in addressing issues related to government policies, food cost control, and marketing has been invaluable to our food and restaurant industry.

Thank you all for your support, and I look forward to seeing the continued success of the Hawaii Restaurant Association.

Aloha,

Ave Kwok

Hawaii Restaurant Association Chairman

7 Ways to Reduce Food Cost Without Compromising Quality

On average, a restaurant’s food costs amount to around a third of total revenue. With ingredient costs fluctuating constantly, controlling spending is one of the toughest challenges facing operators. To maintain your reputation and serve the quality food your customers expect, you need to find ways to reduce costs without sacrificing food quality.

5 Ways to Retain Customer Loyalty

During Difficult Economic Times

2024 may be one of the hardest years of all time for the restaurant industry. We are faced with labor costs jumping by percentages we have never seen, fewer people wanting to work in restaurants, ingredient costs rising every month, and a customer base trying to deal with the effect inflation is having on their own lives. Consumers are having a hard time staying loyal to restaurants that are continually raising prices and cutting portions. So how do you win the game by retaining customers and creating loyalty during these difficult times? 

Top Regulatory and Legal Trends

Restaurant Owners Should Follow

Independent restaurant operators do not need a law degree to efficiently run their restaurants, but they should be aware of regulatory and legal trends as they impact the operations of this heavily regulated industry. Knowing what is on the horizon helps to effectively manage costs and avoid potential liability or, even worse, costly litigation. This webinar will highlight issues related to upcoming or recent regulations from overtime to debit card fees. Angelo Amador, Executive Director of the Restaurant Law Center, will host Gabriel “Gabi” Gillett, a partner with the law firm of Jenner & Block.

Gen Z Dining Trends Restaurant Operators Must Know About

“While Gen Z doesn’t have a ton of disposable income, this generation is more likely to spend the extra money they do have on experiences, like visiting restaurants, than other generations.”