Mainland franchise boom a mixed plate for L&L
By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer
Eddie Flores Jr. has a problem. Strangers have been sending the L&L Drive-Inn president unsolicited $30,000 checks in hopes that he will give them a plate-lunch restaurant franchise on the Mainland.
"It's crazy," Flores said. "When my secretary told me, I said, 'What?' People are sending me checks, I have to send them back."
FLORES
Flores is rolling out a third wave of L&L franchises on the Mainland, where the eateries are known as L&L Hawaiian Barbecue. The push could give the local plate-lunch place a bigger presence on the Mainland than in Hawai'i.
There are 49 L&L in the state, and 25 in California, Nevada, Washington state and Connecticut. Flores said he has signed leases for 18 more Mainland franchises, including firsts in Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New York. Another 10 Mainland L&L deals are in the works. If all are completed, the rest of the country would have four more L&L than there are here.
"The way we're moving is 100 percent full speed," Flores said. "The potential is on the Mainland."
Growing pains, however, also have come with the proliferation of chicken katsu, rice and macaroni salad outside Hawai'i.
The restaurateur said he has been copied in Los Angeles, disappointed with L&L's debut on the East Coast and overwhelmed by demand for franchises.
In Los Angeles, Flores said he has seen three or four "Hawaiian barbeque" copycats.
"They're selling loco mocos with no gravy," he said. "They don't even know what loco moco is."
On the other side of the country, the Connecticut restaurant has underperformed, which is giving Flores some hesitation about opening more East Coast stores unless they are in major multicultural cities such as Boston or New York.
"East Coast is a different market," he said. "I don't understand the market as well. These are lessons I have to learn."
Still, Flores said, he has been inundated by franchisee offers.
"We're not even advertising," he said. "People have just seen it. People see the potential of what we're doing."
The average annual revenue for an L&L, which can be as small as 1,000 square feet, is estimated at $500,000. The Mainland stores, Flores said, have lower operating costs and higher revenue.
All of the franchising interest has led Flores to partner with people outside the company's extended 'ohana — a departure from L&L in Hawai'i, where family and friends of Flores and longtime business partner Johnson Kam typically run the stores.
Sai Yamagata, a Punahou School graduate who went to college in Colorado, used a connection with his father and Flores to help him get an L&L franchise that he plans to open in Denver early next year.
"I'd been working for restaurants and I just decided instead of giving my time and money to other people, I should look into franchising," Yamagata said. "(L&L) seemed like a good place to start."
Flores said he has sold franchises in California to an L&L chicken supplier, an L&L store contractor and the company's real estate agent.
In Utah, Flores said professional football players including former Carolina Panthers linebacker Spencer Reid, who grew up in American Samoa, were among those sending unsolicited franchisee fee checks.
"It's crazy," said Flores, who charges $100 to process an application. "I got so many people applying."
Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8065.
