He Turned a $22,000 Restaurant Into 235 Locations Across the U.S.

Eddie Flores Jr., co-founder of L&L Hawaiian Barbecue, built a 235-location restaurant brand by staying rooted in Hawaiian culture. As an entrepreneur and franchise pioneer, he turned one restaurant into a national concept through authenticity and community. Watch now to learn about the power of Hawaiian identity, creating opportunity through franchising, and leading through family. Sponsored by: • TOAST - All-In-1 Restaurant POS: https://bit.ly/3vpeVsc Chapters: [02:41] - The Power of Hawaiian Branding [08:45] - Impact Marketing Strategies [11:32] - Lessons from Global Expansion [15:10] - Quality and Operations [18:05] - Passing the Business to Family SPONSORS: RESTAURANT INFLUENCERS IS PRESENTED BY TOAST — Restaurant Influencers is brought to you by Toast, the powerful restaurant point of sale and management system that helps restaurants improve operations, increase sales and create a better guest experience. • Toast All-In-1 Restaurant POS: https://bit.ly/3vpeVsc Episode Links: L&L Hawaiian Barbecue: https://www.hawaiianbarbecue.com/ L&L Hawaiian Barbecue IG: https://www.instagram.com/llhawaiianbbq/?hl=en L&L Hawaiian Barbecue YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/hawaiianbarbecue L&L Hawaiian Barbecue Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@llhawaii L&L Hawaiian Barbecue LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/l&l-hawaiian-barbecue/ Elisia Flores: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elisiaflores/ Franchising The American Dream: The Story of Eddie Flores, Jr. and L & L Hawaiian Barbecue: https://www.amazon.com/Franchising-American-Dream-Hawaiian-Barbecue-ebook/dp/B0FCY3GTD4?ref_=ast_author_mpb Key Takeaways: Culture Builds the Brand: Eddie Flores Jr. built L&L by leaning into Hawaiian identity, proving that authenticity and culture can be a stronger draw than traditional marketing. Create Opportunity Through Franchising: By turning employees into owners and scaling through partnerships, Flores Jr. built a system that creates wealth, not just locations. Growth Requires Letting Go: Passing leadership to his daughter, Elisia Flores, brought structure and scalability, showing that long-term success depends on evolving beyond the founder. *** ABOUT EDDIE FLORES JR. — Eddie Flores, Jr. is a distinguished entrepreneur and community philanthropist in Hawaii. He is the founder and CEO of L&L Hawaiian Barbecue, a unique restaurant concept with 200 locations worldwide. Eddie was born in Hong Kong to a Filipino father and a Chinese mother and immigrated to America with his family when he was 16. Eddie graduated from the University of Hawai'i with a bachelor's degree and also earned a master's degree from the University of Oklahoma. ABOUT RESTAURANT INFLUENCERS — Restaurant Influencers is a weekly video podcast series presented by Entrepreneur Media and Cali BBQ Media. Every week host and restaurant owner Shawn Walchef (@shawnpwalchef) talks with business leaders like Shaquille O’Neal, Rob Dyrdek, Emeril Lagasse, Mayim Bialik, Jon Taffer, Robert Irvine, Toast co-founder Aman Narang, and more, about their secrets to Smartphone Storytelling, marketing, branding, and how to show up where customers are engaging online. Published by Entrepreneur Media - https://entreprenuer.com Produced by Cali BBQ Media - https://betheshow.media