Ono Hawaiian BBQ

What Ono Hawaiian BBQ does

Ono Hawaiian BBQ is a family-owned, private Hawaiian-inspired fast-casual restaurant chain founded in 2002 and headquartered in Diamond Bar, California. The company operates 120+ corporately owned locations concentrated in California and Arizona, with active expansion into San Diego County and the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Its menu centers on traditional Hawaiian plate lunches and Aloha Plates featuring grilled-to-order proteins served with rice and mac salad, complemented by appetizers (Spam Musubi), family meals, keiki (children's) meals, gourmet salads, and beverages. The chain is led by CEO Joshua Liang and operates without franchisees, capturing full unit economics across the corporate footprint.

Revenue is generated primarily through dine-in, takeout, drive-thru, and delivery transactions at physical restaurant locations, supplemented by a dedicated catering channel (cater.onohawaiianbbq.com) and online gift card sales (shop.onohawaiianbbq.com). The underlying technology stack is conventional for the segment: an Olo-powered online ordering platform accessible via web and iOS/Android mobile apps, Valutec integration for gift card balance checking, and Google Recaptcha for form protection. No proprietary AI/ML, APIs, or developer-facing platforms are documented. Distribution is purely direct-to-consumer through corporate-owned physical stores and owned digital channels; the brand is not listed on third-party delivery marketplaces for promotional redemptions.

Customer acquisition relies on community-focused grand opening events with raffles and promotional card giveaways, an email newsletter program ('Ono Ohana'), organic social media across Instagram/TikTok/Facebook/Twitter, and a first-ever MLS partnership with Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) featuring trigger-based promotions. The company operates as Ono Hawaiian BBQ Corporation, a California entity, with no disclosed institutional investors, venture funding, or merger and acquisition activity.

Name

Ono Hawaiian BBQ

Legal name

Ono Hawaiian BBQ Corporation

Website

https://onohawaiianbbq.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Ono Hawaiian BBQ is a family-owned, private Hawaiian-inspired fast-casual restaurant chain founded in 2002, operating 120+ corporate-owned locations across California and Arizona and expanding into Texas and San Diego County. The company serves individual consumers and families with plate lunches, Aloha Plates, and catering, processing orders through Olo-powered digital channels and company-operated stores.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fast-Casual Restaurants

NAICS

Restaurants and Other Eating Places (72251), Limited-Service Restaurants (722513), Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Caterers (722320)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Ethnic & Regional Cuisine Restaurants (THAFACAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Family-Style Restaurants (THAFACAC), All-Day Dining Restaurants (THAFACAJ)

Keywords

• Fast casual restaurants
• Hawaiian plate lunches
• Restaurant catering services
• Online food ordering
• Corporate restaurant chain

Headquarters

HQ city

Diamond Bar

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Restaurant Food and Beverage Sales: Core revenue from dine-in, takeout, drive-thru, and delivery orders at corporate-owned restaurant locations. Customers order from a menu featuring Hawaiian-inspired plate lunches, Aloha plates, appetizers, beverages, family meals, gourmet salads, and keiki meals.
2. Catering Services: Corporate and event catering orders placed through dedicated catering website (cater.onohawaiianbbq.com) and online ordering platform. Catering orders generate higher average transaction values than individual dining.
3. Gift Card Sales: Sale of gift cards through the company's online storefront (shop.onohawaiianbbq.com) and physical restaurant locations. Gift cards represent float and encourage future customer visits.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Ono Hawaiian BBQ operates a chain of corporate-owned Hawaiian-inspired fast-casual restaurants serving plate lunches, Aloha Plates, and complementary menu items through 120+ dine-in, takeout, drive-thru, and delivery locations across California and Arizona. The company also runs an Olo-powered online ordering platform, iOS and Android mobile apps, a dedicated catering service, and sells digital and physical gift cards. Recent expansion targets San Diego County and the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex in Texas.

Product overview

Ono Hawaiian BBQ operates as a Hawaiian-inspired fast-casual restaurant chain with a unified core offering of plate lunches and Aloha Plates. The company operates across California and Arizona with over 120 locations, with expansion into Texas and San Diego County. The product portfolio centers on signature Hawaiian-inspired comfort food including plate lunches, Aloha Plates, appetizers, beverages, family meals, gourmet salads, and children's meals (Keiki Meals). Digital services include online ordering via the Olo-powered platform, a mobile app for iOS and Android, and catering services. Supporting offerings include gift cards with balance checking through Valutec. The brand emphasizes fresh-grilled proteins with house-made Katsu and Teriyaki sauces.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 12 March 2026Ono Hawaiian BBQ's first-ever Major League Soccer partnership with LAFC, the Los Angeles-based MLS club. The season-long partnership includes a 'LAFC Scores First' trigger promotion offering fans a $5.99 Chicken Plate Lunch the next business day when LAFC scores first in the first half of home games at participating Greater Los Angeles locations. The promotion is available online with code LAFCSCORES as part of Ono Hawaiian BBQ's continued investment in Southern California communities.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• L&L Hawaiian Barbecue: The largest mainland Hawaiian BBQ chain with a directly comparable plate-lunch menu, dine-in/takeout model, and multi-state footprint. Most directly comparable peer on cuisine, format, and customer base.
• Pick Up Stix: Asian-inspired fast-casual chain with comparable plate-lunch format, dine-in and takeout service, and a Southern California footprint. Operates in adjacent cuisine category with similar customer use cases.

Broad incumbents

• Panda Express: Largest Asian-American fast-casual chain in the US with a similar dine-in, takeout, drive-thru operating model. Comparable on format and customer occasion (quick ethnic comfort food), though broader cuisine.
• CAVA Group: Public fast-casual chain with strong unit economics, digital ordering stack, and category-defining positioning. Comparable on the fast-casual unit growth and digital-first GTM thesis, though Mediterranean vs. Hawaiian cuisine.
• Chipotle Mexican Grill: The prototypical differentiated fast-casual chain, comparable on the 'specialty cuisine + corporate-owned units + digital ordering' operating model. Useful as a public-market benchmark for fast-casual AUVs and growth multiples.
• Sweetgreen: Tech-forward fast-casual chain with proprietary digital ordering and mobile app-led GTM. Comparable on digital ordering, mobile app, and brand-led marketing investments, though salads vs. Hawaiian plate lunches.

Regional players

• Zippy's: Hawaii-based plate-lunch and restaurant chain with a directly comparable menu and format, but operates primarily in Hawaii. Highly relevant as a concept comparable with limited geographic overlap.
• Islands Restaurants: Southern California-based casual dining chain with Hawaiian/Tropical-themed menu. Comparable on Hawaiian-inspired positioning and SoCal footprint, though full-service sit-down format.
• Wahoo's Fish Taco: Southern California-based fast-casual chain with a specialty ethnic cuisine menu. Comparable on regional fast-casual positioning and SoCal footprint, though distinct cuisine (fish tacos vs. Hawaiian BBQ).

Emerging players

• Hawaiian Bros: Growing Hawaiian plate-lunch chain operating in Texas and other Sunbelt states. Emerging Hawaiian fast-casual peer with similar menu positioning and a Texas footprint that overlaps with Ono's planned expansion.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/onohawaiianbbq
• Facebookfacebook.com/OnoHawaiianBBQ
• Instagraminstagram.com/onohawaiianbbq
• TikTokvm.tiktok.com/ZMR52pXqg

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ono Hawaiian BBQ