Highway Inn Comes to Town
by Jacob Kamhis
You can see the original layout in the January-March 2014 issue of Pacific Edge magazine here.
When Monica Toguchi opened the Highway Inn restaurant in town, little did she know she had stepped into a different world compared with the first diner her grandfather opened in Waipahu after World War II. The lunch crowd at the new 3,300-square-foot Kaka'ako restaurant arrived in droves in late October at the renovated 680 Ala Moana building. The staff behind the counter could barely keep up with all the orders of Hawaiian food. “We have flash-mob lunches,” Toguchi says. “It can be overwhelming if you're not prepared.”
Many customers in Kaka'ako have only lunchtime to order their meals and eat, compared with the type of diners who frequent the Waipahu diner on Leoku Street, near the old sugar mill. The new diner opens from late morning to early afternoon and it's closed on Sundays. Lunch rushes prompted Toguchi get into action. She hired workers and reorganized while continuing to maintain her family's traditional preparation of lau lau, pipikaula and beef stew. Toguchi also paired such classic dishes with cuisine inspired by Chef Kealoha Domingo, Sous Chef Michael Kealoha and Pastry Chef Ed Morita.
“Kaka'ako is a place to grow the business,” Toguchi explains. Large-scale development plans for the this district in Honolulu call for the construction of residential and office buildings, additional retail sites and restaurant space.
Toguchi's grandfather, Seiichi, started the multi-million dollar company in Waipahu after learning how to cook at the Tulelake internment camp in northern California. When Seiichi returned to Oahu with his family, he tried other work. He raised pigs but they kept losing weight. A junk business didn't make enough money. The restaurant he opened ensured his seven children would eat. With an investment of $2,500 from relatives, Seiichi opened the first Highway Inn on Farrington Highway in 1947. He later moved it to Waipahu Depot Road near the old Arakawa's store. He chose “inn” because the term was commonly used by local restaurateurs at the time.
At the age of five, little Monica Toguchi would visit the “giant” diner that seated only 15. She climbed on top of the huge green, wooden chairs where patrons ate together community-style and talked story. “I never helped. I just ate and played, ran around and roamed,” she recalls. Toguchi heard stories from customers about her grandmother who passed and left her grandfather heartbroken. But Seiichi carried on. When someone didn't have money for a meal, he was known to ask the patron to simply pay on the next visit.
Her sister, Regina, ran a portion of the business while Monica made a last ditch effort to complete her schooling and while helping in the business. Monica came to realize she couldn't do both. Regina wanted to travel and eventually settled in Beijing. “I was not about to let the business fail,” Monica says, and now runs the show in its entirety. “I'm the beneficiary of people who worked hard before me,” she explains, for her motivation to take over Highway Inn.
Monica is on the job from six in the morning till midnight every day, managing 70 employees. "I feed off the support of customers and the community," she says. Monica is also involved with the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, American Foundation of Suicide Prevention and Surfrider Spirit Sessions.
With a $1.5-million loan and through a business contact, she found the current Kaka'ako location at what appears to be the right time. Future customers are expected to be not only the construction crews rebuilding the district for the short term, but also the projected thousands of new residents and workers who will populate the neighborhoods.
Toguchi believes anyone can build anything, but it takes a small businessperson to occupy the space that's built. And in business, that is true across generations. But it's the generation that starts the business that has the most courage, she feels. “It's always a goal to grow the family business and perpetuate the culture through Hawaiian food,” Toguchi says.
Many customers in Kaka'ako have only lunchtime to order their meals and eat, compared with the type of diners who frequent the Waipahu diner on Leoku Street, near the old sugar mill. The new diner opens from late morning to early afternoon and it's closed on Sundays. Lunch rushes prompted Toguchi get into action. She hired workers and reorganized while continuing to maintain her family's traditional preparation of lau lau, pipikaula and beef stew. Toguchi also paired such classic dishes with cuisine inspired by Chef Kealoha Domingo, Sous Chef Michael Kealoha and Pastry Chef Ed Morita.
“Kaka'ako is a place to grow the business,” Toguchi explains. Large-scale development plans for the this district in Honolulu call for the construction of residential and office buildings, additional retail sites and restaurant space.
Toguchi's grandfather, Seiichi, started the multi-million dollar company in Waipahu after learning how to cook at the Tulelake internment camp in northern California. When Seiichi returned to Oahu with his family, he tried other work. He raised pigs but they kept losing weight. A junk business didn't make enough money. The restaurant he opened ensured his seven children would eat. With an investment of $2,500 from relatives, Seiichi opened the first Highway Inn on Farrington Highway in 1947. He later moved it to Waipahu Depot Road near the old Arakawa's store. He chose “inn” because the term was commonly used by local restaurateurs at the time.
At the age of five, little Monica Toguchi would visit the “giant” diner that seated only 15. She climbed on top of the huge green, wooden chairs where patrons ate together community-style and talked story. “I never helped. I just ate and played, ran around and roamed,” she recalls. Toguchi heard stories from customers about her grandmother who passed and left her grandfather heartbroken. But Seiichi carried on. When someone didn't have money for a meal, he was known to ask the patron to simply pay on the next visit.
Her sister, Regina, ran a portion of the business while Monica made a last ditch effort to complete her schooling and while helping in the business. Monica came to realize she couldn't do both. Regina wanted to travel and eventually settled in Beijing. “I was not about to let the business fail,” Monica says, and now runs the show in its entirety. “I'm the beneficiary of people who worked hard before me,” she explains, for her motivation to take over Highway Inn.
Monica is on the job from six in the morning till midnight every day, managing 70 employees. "I feed off the support of customers and the community," she says. Monica is also involved with the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, American Foundation of Suicide Prevention and Surfrider Spirit Sessions.
With a $1.5-million loan and through a business contact, she found the current Kaka'ako location at what appears to be the right time. Future customers are expected to be not only the construction crews rebuilding the district for the short term, but also the projected thousands of new residents and workers who will populate the neighborhoods.
Toguchi believes anyone can build anything, but it takes a small businessperson to occupy the space that's built. And in business, that is true across generations. But it's the generation that starts the business that has the most courage, she feels. “It's always a goal to grow the family business and perpetuate the culture through Hawaiian food,” Toguchi says.