Page 4 - MidWeek Kauai - April 13, 2022

4 KAUA‘I MIDWEEK APRIL 13, 2022 Kaua‘i Midweek Cover Story
L&L Hawaiian Barbecue is not only surviving, but also thriving under the swell leadership of Elisia Flores.
STORY BY
Don Robbins
PHOTO BY
Anthony Consillio
W hy is the lead- er of the L&L Hawaiian Bar- becue empire, Elisia Flores, smiling so much these days? It probably has to do with a couple of momentous and grin-worthy occasions that just occurred or are right
ticipated L&L convention, scheduled for April 15-16 at Royal Hawaiian Resort and Sheraton Waikīkī. The event, which will commemorate the 70th anniversary of the popular restaurant chain, is expected to draw more than 200 L&L Hawaiian Barbecue franchisees from more than 10 states and Japan.
serves as CEO and vice chair of the company. “We’re at 211 stores right now, so I’m hop- ing to double our store count in the next 10 years, and really, really celebrate Hawaiian bar- becue across the nation.”
for a while, and I guess we’ve just taken our time ... My wife (Megan) and I have been try- ing for a while, so we’re defi- nitely excited to welcome our baby,” says Flores, adding that bringing a child into the world can be both an “awesome and terrifying” experience.
most everything we serve to customers we make from scratch in-house ... Every- thing is cooked fresh to order and because of that, the taste is on another level,” Flores em- phasizes. “Beyond that, we give really, really big portions.
and her bachelor’s in finance from University of Southern California. Flores also went to work for General Electric. For more than eight years, she served within the company’s finance management program before assuming the role of corporate auditor, a position that allowed her to travel the world and perform auditing and consulting work across multiple GE firms. Eventual- ly, she was promoted to a se- nior finance manager position, where she oversaw a portfolio of assets with annual revenue in excess of $750 million.
Elisia Flores and her father, Eddie Flores Jr., are all smiles as L&L Hawai‘i prepares for its upcoming anniversary convention in Waikīkī.
around the corner.
Coming up is the much-an-
But her biggest smile now- adays is reserved for her first child —a boy — who was born on April 1. Equally ex- citing is that younger sister El- lice is pregnant, too — all of which means the Flores ‘oha- na is hitting a growth spurt, and that’s a bit of long-await- ed good news for the matri- arch of the family, Elaine, and its patriarch, co-founder of the L&L Hawaiian Barbecue franchise, Eddie Jr.
The same could be said about helping to lead an icon- ic fast-food company that’s viewed as a member of the family.
“My absolute favorite is our chicken katsu,” she adds, noting that “the crunchiness of the panko that we use and the tartness of the sauce” are what she most enjoys about the popular dish.
“I’ m super excited about the future,” says Flores, who
“My parents are both very excited. I think they’ve been wanting to have grandchildren
What makes L&L such a beloved eatery is that its food really hits the spot with din- ers, she notes.
She graduated from Puna- hou School and earned her ex- ecutive MBA from University of California, Los Angeles,
“I consider it my older sib- ling,” she explains. “My par- ents put time, money, energy, love into the business, just like they did to me and my sister.”
Although the 37-year-old Flores now holds a leading position at the company, her business life previously took her on quite a different path.
Yet even after she left Ha- wai‘i to attend college and work for GE, Flores always knew that she’ d eventually return and work for L&L.
“I’ m really proud that al-
SEE PAGE 5