You’ve seen this restaurant chain all over Kansas City. Now, it’s coming to Wichita

Denise Neil
·2 min read

If you spend much time in Kansas City, you’ve probably driven past a Hawaiian Bros restaurant and noticed its ubiquitous ocean-blue building and signature sign accented with a pineapple.

Now, it appears, the fast-food chain — which specializes in Hawaiian “plate lunches” served with chicken and pork and macaroni salad — is coming to Wichita.

The Hawaiian Bros chain announced in a news release on Thursday morning that it has signed its fourth franchise agreement with Ohana Restaurant Group LLC, which is owned by Zach Fugate of the Pizza Hut Fugates and his cousins, brothers Nick and Nathan Blasi, who own Marine World in Wichita.

Hawaiian Bros restaurants are easily recognizable for their ocean-blue paint jobs and signs accented with a pineapple. Tammy Ljungblad/tljungblad@kcstar.com
Hawaiian Bros restaurants are easily recognizable for their ocean-blue paint jobs and signs accented with a pineapple. Tammy Ljungblad/tljungblad@kcstar.com

Fugate, who will be president of the new restaurant group, runs the Pizza Hut division of Fugate Enterprises, which was started by his grandfather nearly 50 years ago and has around 150 Pizza Hut and 75 Taco Bell restaurants across many states.

Contacted on Thursday, Fugate said that where he opens his first Hawaiian Bros restaurant depends on the real estate opportunities he finds but that he’d like to eventually open two restaurants in Wichita — one on the east side and one on the west side.

Although he can’t commit to a timeline, he said, his best guess is that the first Hawaiian Bros will open in Wichita by late 2024.

Hawaiian Bros, which started in 2018, has expanded to 39 restaurants in seven states: Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas Missouri, New York Oklahoma and Texas. It’s also about to add restaurants in Arizona and Iowa. The Kansas City area has 12 Hawaiian Bros, and the chain also has a restaurant in Lawrence.

The newly-formed Ohana Restaurant Group, which already opened a Hawaiian Bros in Springdale, Arkansas, will open seven more restaurants in Wichita; in Joplin and Springfield, Missouri; and in Bentonville, Fayetteville, Rogers, and Ft. Smith, Arkansas.

Plate lunches are a staple in Hawaii and are most often found on roadside stands or hole-in-the-wall restaurants. They typically come with different types of protein, a serving of mayo-based macaroni salad, and two scoops of white rice.

Fugate said his favorite menu item is the Honolulu Chicken, which features “savory chicken infused with fresh garlic, green onions and sesame.”