Alan Wong's Restaurant, Alan Wong's Honolulu

What Alan Wong's Restaurant, Alan Wong's Honolulu does

Alan Wong's Restaurant, operating as Alan Wong's Honolulu, was a fine dining establishment founded by Chef Alan Wong in April 1995 and permanently closed in November 2020 after 25+ years of operation. The flagship restaurant was located at 1857 S. King St. #208 in Honolulu, Hawaii, and the company was organized as a privately held Hawaii corporation (Alan Wong's Restaurants) governed by Hawaii state law. The restaurant pioneered the Hawaii Regional Cuisine movement, blending East-West culinary techniques with locally sourced Hawaiian ingredients from a network of 50+ farms, ranches, and producers.

The business operated as a direct-to-consumer fine dining establishment with reservations required and pricing not publicly disclosed. Beyond the flagship, the brand extended into The Pineapple Room by Alan Wong at Macy's (opened 2011), Amasia at the Grand Wailea resort in Maui (opened 2012), and a Shanghai, China location that earned Michelin recognition. Revenue streams included restaurant dining (tasting menus and a la carte), digital gift cards sold through the Gift Up! platform with Stripe payment processing, and cookbook sales — primarily 'The Blue Tomato' (284 pages, 200+ recipes, IACP finalist in 2012) and earlier 'Alan Wong's New Wave Luau.' Marketing relied on Chef Alan Wong's personal brand, earned media coverage, community events, and food festival participation.

The customer base centered on affluent fine dining patrons, tourists, and local food enthusiasts, with a secondary segment of cookbook buyers and home cooks. Notable institutional recognition included James Beard Award, AAA Four Diamond rating, multiple Hale Aina Awards, OAD Top 50 North America ranking, and service as a dining destination for President Barack Obama. The company also engaged in community initiatives including partnerships with the Hawaii Food & Wine Festival, Hawaii Agricultural Foundation's Localicious campaign, and University of Hawaii Hilo's Adopt-A-Beehive program. Operating status is closed; assets were liquidated through Oahu Auctions ending November 15, 2020.

Name

Alan Wong's Restaurant, Alan Wong's Honolulu

Legal name

Alan Wong's Restaurants

Website

https://alanwongs.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Alan Wong's Restaurant was a Honolulu fine dining establishment (1995-2020) pioneering Hawaii Regional Cuisine, with affiliated locations in Maui and Shanghai, supported by a cookbook line and local farm sourcing network. The company permanently closed in November 2020.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fine Dining Restaurants

NAICS

Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Restaurants and Other Eating Places (72251)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Fine Dining Restaurants (THAFACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Chef’s Table & Tasting Menu Restaurants (THAFACAG), Hotel & Resort Restaurants (THAFACAH)

Keywords

• Fine dining restaurants
• Hawaii regional cuisine
• Farm-to-table dining
• Culinary cookbooks
• Chef-driven restaurants

Headquarters

HQ city

Honolulu

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Restaurant Dining: Fine dining restaurant revenue from food and beverage service. Operated from April 1995 to November 2020 (25+ years). Revenue generated through table service, tasting menus, and a la carte dining.
2. Cookbook Sales: Sale of cookbooks including 'The Blue Tomato' (284-page book with 200+ recipes) and earlier 'Alan Wong's New Wave Luau'. Books available for purchase through online retailers.
3. Gift Cards: Digital gift cards sold through third-party Gift Up! platform with Stripe payment processing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Alan Wong's Restaurants operated a fine dining restaurant in Honolulu specializing in Hawaii Regional Cuisine, an East-West fusion approach using fresh Island ingredients. The flagship Alan Wong's Honolulu operated from April 1995 to November 2020, supplemented by The Pineapple Room at Macy's and Amasia at the Grand Wailea in Maui. Revenue was generated through table service, tasting menus, à la carte dining, cookbook sales (The Blue Tomato), and digital gift cards.

Product overview

Alan Wong's Restaurants operated as a fine dining establishment specializing in Hawaii Regional Cuisine, featuring East-West fusion cooking styles with fresh Island ingredients. The primary product offering was the restaurant experience at Alan Wong's Honolulu (April 1995 - November 2020), supplemented by The Blue Tomato cookbook. The company also operated The Pineapple Room by Alan Wong at Macy's and Alan Wong's Amasia at Grand Wailea, Maui.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Blue Tomato: Chef Alan Wong's cookbook published in 2011, featuring 70 memorable dishes and over 200 recipes representing the best of his innovative menus and Hawaii Regional Cuisine philosophy

Products and services

• Alan Wong's Honolulu (Flagship Restaurant) Fine dining restaurant offering Hawaii Regional Cuisine with tasting menus, à la carte dining, and table service. Operated for over 25 years.
• Alan Wong's Amasia (Grand Wailea, Maui)

Quantifiable outcome

• Named to Opinionated About Dining Top 50 Restaurants in North America
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University of Hawaii HilocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on the 'Adopt-A-Beehive with Alan Wong' program. This initiative supports student beekeepers at UH Hilo and promotes sustainable agriculture in Hawaii. The program includes scholarships for student beekeepers and has been recognized by Senator Gilbert Kahele. Chef Alan Wong serves as ambassador for honeybee conservation.
• Hawaii Food & Wine FestivalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlan Wong's is a founding/participating restaurant in the Hawaii Food & Wine Festival, one of Hawaii's premier culinary events. The festival showcases Hawaii's ingredients and culinary talent to national and international audiences.
• Hawaii Agricultural FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Hawaii Agricultural Foundation initiatives including the Localicious campaign that promotes local agriculture. Over 170 restaurants participated in supporting local purveyors through this campaign.
• Nalo FarmscoreOthersPrimary supplier of specialty greens and produce. Nalo Farms is one of 50+ local farms and producers that supply ingredients to Alan Wong's Restaurants, exemplifying the farm-to-table commitment.
• Ho FarmscoreOthersSupplier of fresh produce to Alan Wong's. Ho Farms in Kahuku is known for quality vegetables and fruits grown in Hawaii.
• Kualoa RanchminorOthersSupplier of locally raised beef and agricultural products. Kualoa Ranch is a historic Hawaii ranch known for sustainable farming practices.
• Maui Cattle CompanycoreOthersSupplier of locally raised beef to Alan Wong's restaurants. Supports the restaurant's commitment to Hawaii-sourced ingredients.
• Localicious Hawaii CampaigncoreGTM or Marketing PartnerAnnual campaign where restaurants create dishes using locally grown Hawaii products, with proceeds supporting agricultural education. Over 170 restaurants participate annually.
• Culinary Institute of the PacificminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership supporting culinary education and training for next generation of Hawaii chefs.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Merriman's Hawaii: Operated by Chef Peter Merriman, one of the original co-founders of the Hawaii Regional Cuisine movement alongside Alan Wong. Comparable fine-dining farm-to-table concept anchored in Hawaii-sourced ingredients with multi-island locations.
• Roy's Restaurants: Founded by Chef Roy Yamaguchi, another co-founder of the Hawaii Regional Cuisine movement with Alan Wong. Operates fine-dining Hawaiian fusion restaurants with a comparable East-West culinary philosophy.
• Chef Mavro Restaurant: Hawaii-based James Beard-recognized fine-dining restaurant led by Chef George Mavrothalassitis, offering contemporary Mediterranean-influenced cuisine with strong local sourcing — a direct Honolulu fine-dining competitor.

Broad incumbents

• Per Se: Thomas Keller's New York fine-dining counterpart to The French Laundry. Comparable chef-driven tasting-menu concept with comparable price point, accolades (Michelin three-star), and reliance on chef personality.
• Le Bernardin: Eric Ripert's Michelin three-star seafood-focused fine-dining restaurant in NYC. Comparable as an established chef-driven luxury dining institution with global brand equity and cookbook publishing.
• Eleven Madison Park: Daniel Humm's three-Michelin-star New York fine-dining flagship. Comparable as a top-tier tasting-menu restaurant with cookbook publishing and global brand recognition in the same ultra-premium dining tier.
• The French Laundry: Thomas Keller's iconic Yountville fine-dining restaurant and benchmark for tasting-menu, farm-to-table American cuisine. Comparable as a high-prestige chef-driven tasting-menu concept that has scaled brand into cookbooks and products.
• Momofuku: David Chang's restaurant group with multiple Asian-influenced fine-dining concepts and major cookbook/media presence. Comparable chef-brand that scaled beyond a single dining room into packaged goods, media, and global locations.

Others

• Hawaii Food & Wine Festival: Founding participating restaurant of Hawaii's premier culinary event, alongside Roy Yamaguchi and other Hawaii Regional Cuisine pioneers. Relevant as a co-branding and demand-generation ecosystem participant.
• Hawaiian Airlines (Hawaii Regional Cuisine co-marketing): Long-standing promotional partner of the Hawaii Regional Cuisine movement, including Alan Wong. Relevant as an ecosystem/strategic partner connecting the restaurant brand to Hawaii tourism inflows, a key demand driver.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/alanwongs
• Instagraminstagram.com/alanwongs
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/alan-wong

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Alan Wong's Restaurant, Alan Wong's Honolulu