 This is Cheryl Matsuoka, the executive director of the Hawaii Restaurant Association, and I'll write, let's meet our guest. I'd like to introduce our guest today, Victor Lim. And Victor, I'll have you introduce yourself because you are involved in so many different areas of our community. Victor? Well, hi. Good morning, everybody. Oh, good afternoon, everybody. It's 12 noon. Thank you for allowing me to join you today. I'm, as you know, I'm a McDonald's franchisee here in Hawaii in Honolulu, but I'm also a former chair of the Hawaii Restaurant Association. And for the past 15 plus years, I have been acting as the legislative lead for the Hawaii Restaurant Association, dealing with all the government issues at a state level, as well as county levels that affect our restaurant business. And so in that capacity, I'm here to join you this morning or this afternoon, Cheryl. And I'm yours. Thank you so much, Victor, for being here with me today. Hawaii Restaurant Association is kicking off the year with a special event, which is our legislative meet and greet. It's our annual event. And the purpose of this event is to network with our government officials. And, Victor, we were just talking about it a little while ago. One of the reoccurring comments that I hear from our government officials is they need to hear from our restaurant tours. Isn't that right? That's true. You know, they always say that, hey, how come, you know, usually on any particular issues, there's a lot of people that come and testify. However, with the restaurant community, hardly anybody showed up. But and I always have to keep reminding our legislators that many of our businesses, especially the small businesses, we are working owners. We work every day in our business. And if we have to be out of our business for three, four hours during a working time, you know, we have to shut our restaurant down or retail business down. So I mean, it's very, very difficult for us to do. But nevertheless, many times I act as a chairperson as a mouthpiece. But I also need a lot of help from my fellow business people that either engage with the legislators or write letters or testimony and so forth. So you know, we we got to use technology to our advantage. And also, you know, physical presence also make a huge difference. Yes, physical presence always make a huge difference. And as you mentioned, Victor, even a written testimony, calling your representative, doing a video, whatever you need to do to make your voice heard is part of what today's discussion is all about. At our legislative meet and greet, which is going to be on January 30, which is a Monday, we really want to thank our presenting sponsor HMA and our silver sponsor Giovanni Prastrami. Tickets are on sale right now, $25. And Victor, I have great news. We have really a well attended event coming up, the list of the government officials that are attending is growing every day. So we look like we're going to have at least 125, 135 attendees, Victor. You know, it's a wonderful opportunity for us because, you know, the legislators are going into session next week on the 18th. And, you know, the chamber is doing the legislative meet and greet. But we have a specific one just for our restaurant community. And that's going to be on the 30th at the Central Pacific Bank, at the tight pool, at the main lobby area, first floor of the renovated Central Pacific Bank. And that's where we're going to have a reception. You're going to have a chance to mingle and meet, you know, many of the elected officials that come by. And really, you know, they need to see name and faces. And so, you know, we also can reciprocate that way. And that way, we can actually talk about issues that affect our business. And of course, you know, there are a lot. There is a lot, Victor. And you're right. The event starts at 5.30, tickets are already on sale. So please purchase your tickets. I have a list of all the businesses that have already registered as long as well as our government officials who will be registering. So, you know, Victor, part of this discussion today is about our legislative meet and greet, which is an in-person event. And the other part of it is our Government Relations Committee. Our meeting in January will be held on January 26. It's a Thursday at 4 p.m. via Zoom. So you want to talk a little bit about what our Government Relations Committee normally, how it works and what happens during the committee meeting. Well, you know, give a typical legislative session. We have all kinds of people that talk to their neighbourhood legislators and have them introduce bills that impact them. And many times, it impact them maybe in a positive way, but it impact us in a negative way. You know, whether it's, you know, minimum wage or tip credit or things like unemployment insurance benefits, you know, you name it, you know, there's a pros and cons for everything. And when the issues comes up and the bills get introduced, you know, our role is really to answer in a pragmatic, logical way, because many of the legislators that vote on it, you know, only hear one side of the story and they do not understand the other side. And it's our responsibility to say, hey, you know, you got to take a look at the other side, you know, as you know, you know, over the last two and a half years to the pandemic, you know, our business community has been devastated. We got whiplash all over the place. And many of your neighbourhoods, small businesses and many restaurants have really permanently closed. And even though pandemic is supposedly behind us, the issue has not gone away yet. I was just reading something nationally put out by the NFIB, National Retail Federation and small businesses that businesses to the month of December, many of the independent small businesses are struggling to pay rent. And I tell you, even though, like I said, the pandemic is supposedly over, many of your neighbourhood businesses are struggling and still continue to struggle. And our job is to make sure that our elected officials understand what we as business community are going through, so that they are sensitive, that when they make their decision and when they cast their votes, yea or nay or sometime in between, that they take all sides of the issue into account instead of just listening to one side. That's our job and that's our role as the restaurant legislative committee. You're right, Victor. We are the voice of the food service industry. And so many times when I do speak to our government officials, I remind them that there's rising costs of product, right? All our protein costs are sky high, supplies, all of the cost of supplies and, you know, utensils, everything's going up, take out utensils. And then the fuel costs, our utility costs are going up and combine all that. I remind our legislators and our government officials, you know, our restaurant tours, they really try not to increase their menu prices, but yet they have to if they have all these rising costs. And you talk about rising costs. Actually, the increases in menu prices in restaurants actually is about two, three points lower than the increases in the cost in a supermarket because everybody faces costs from, you know, because of gas prices, transportation costs is up, the commodity costs is up, right? A shortage of anything and everything that you could ever imagine. And that's why, you know, and the economy is softening. You know, we are technically, if you look to talk to many economists, they will tell you that we are technically in a recession. And so, you know, with inflation, wages not going up enough, you know, costs going up, you know, our community, our neighbors, ourselves, you know, our dollar is stretching a little bit less than it did before. So in this time, it's very critical for us to make sure that what we can control, we control. Yes. And you're so right, Victor. You know, I speak to many of our community members, and they are afraid of a recession. They are afraid. And so they're not spending as much, as you mentioned, in luxury things. Many of the restaurant tours tell me that if they used to have a tab and they would come in and have an appetizer, and they'd have a meal, and then they'd have a dessert and maybe a couple of drinks, now they notice that that tab maybe not have that second drink and maybe not a dessert. That is definitely true in all types of businesses, you know. I mean, you know, people have to check, you know, their own, you know, family budgets and wallets, right? I mean, that's a reality. And so, you know, right now, it's tough times, you know, all the freebie money that the government handout is over, right? But costs continue to escalate for anything and everything that you buy out there. And so, you know, people got to make sure that you budget what you can, right? And the fact is that I also saw something this last couple of weeks is that, you know, people are using their credit cards a lot more because, you know, you are tapping into your credit lines. So that's the economy that we are at. So, you know, 23 is looking to be a big challenge for all of us personally as well as the business community. And restaurants are no exception. Yes, Victor. I hear daily I have restaurant tours calling me and the restaurant tours that, especially in our tourist areas that used to depend on the Asian market tourist, you know, they reported back to me that after the holidays, their numbers were not as good as 2019 because we don't have that Asian visitor here. We're lucky that we have the West Coast as well as mainland visitors. But the Asian visitors, we're probably doing about 10, 15% of what we used to do. And right now, you know, even though China is opening up, but the pandemic, you know, the amount of COVID cases that they have, people are very concerned that what's going to happen. And the other thing, you know, some of the given examples, one of the issues that I've been working on right now is that, you know, unemployment insurance rate, you know, during the pandemic, 2020 and 2021, 22, we were at their D rate on this D schedule on what business pay for unemployment insurance. In 23, we are looking at going from D, jumping from D to an F schedule, which means that all the businesses are going to continue to pay at a higher unemployment insurance on top of, you know, all the other courses that you see. So we're going to see what we can do, maybe try to nudge some people that maybe we can slow it down some, you know, I mean, anything that we can do to make life easy for the small businesses, we're all for it. That's what we're here for. And Victor, you have always been the voice of the Hawaii Restaurant Association, especially when we speak to our government officials, and you're right, this unemployment insurance has everybody, you know, with big ears trying to hear what's going to happen next. So as you mentioned, you know, we're going to try our best to explain the process and why we need to slow it down. Because it's going to affect their bottom line, Victor. It's going to affect everybody, you know, and of course, you know, like any other insurance, right? I mean, your experience level, your business experience level will affect your insurance rate, and unemployment insurance is no different. However, because of the, we work very hard with the legislator as well as the previous administration to make sure that during the pandemic, you know, people were on an unemployment roll, not because of business creating debt, people on an unemployment roll, but it's a pandemic that causes businesses to shut down, causes business to lay off and has nothing to do with our business community. And we were able to do that. But right now, I think we need to make sure that they understand and they continue to soften and make the rates reasonable for the community. Thank you, Victor. Now, is there any other bills or any other legislation that we need to discuss today, Victor, that we should be aware of? You know, you know, for many of the restaurants, you know, we, you know, in my restaurants, it's a non-tip restaurant. So, you know, at McDonald's, you know, our employees are not tipped. But many of the mid-tier and fine dining restaurants, the employee, part of the employee compensation is having tips. And the businesses have a small break in terms of what we call tip credit for those people. And every year we have legislation. And I understand that right now, we are looking at, there are some senators that are trying to introduce a bill that's going to eliminate the tip credit. And there will be a further pressure on our mid-tier and fine dining restaurants. And the tip employees is more than just restaurants, you know, in the hotels where you do valet parking and things like that. All those people are compensated. The wage is only a small part of, you know, the paid wage is only a small part of it. But they get 20, 30 percentile increases with a tip, you know. And if you eliminate that, those businesses and those employees will get hurt even more. And so that's one of the issues that we will face and we expect to face every year. Thank you, Victor. You know, I just want to say at this time, Victor, you know, we all owe you such gratitude. When we were in the pandemic, well, I'm sorry, Victor, it was before the pandemic, we knew it was coming. And we went to meet with Governor E. Gay. And it was Victor who really said, you know, can you please, Governor, consider cocktails to go? And it was Victor who, you know, as he mentioned, he's in a fast food restaurant, has no benefit, but he's the one who put his name on that card that day and asked the governor. And we were all present when you did that. Victor is out there even fighting for tip credit. And as he mentioned, his restaurant doesn't have that type of employee, but yet he'll go out there and fight for the industry regarding tip credit or whatever the issue is. So thank you, Victor. Thank you so a lot. At the Hawaii Restaurants Association is the restaurants have namthip restaurants to fine dining restaurants and anything and everything in between. And our job is to be advocate for the industry. And the fact is that, you know, many of our elected officials, even though that the intention is good, they do not understand our business. We understand our business better than they do. And if we don't speak up on behalf of our industry on our business, I mean, they will pass rules and regulations that are going to be very detrimental for us. And then if you look at it during the pandemic, whether it's with Mayor Blangerie or Mayor Caldwell to Governor E. Gay, we have some heart to heart dialogue, right? I mean, to educate them that, hey, you know, this regulation that you're passing out, it has zero benefit to us because one portion of your mandate contradicts the other portion of your mandate. And they don't understand that unless, you know, we provide that with them. But, you know, we were very fortunate that, you know, all the different mayors in all the counties, you know, Governor E. Gay and his staff, they always have a room to return our calls. And I want to say, you know, we're very thankful that they allow us having a voice. And we don't win all the time. But you know, you know, we will fight all the time on behalf of our industry. Because if we don't, we are in a whole lot of hurt. And you're so right, Victor, how many numerous calls we had with Governor E. Gay, with all the mayors and the relationship that the Hawaii Restaurant Association has built. And even more so, I think, Victor, during the pandemic, right? Where there was way more conversations than prior to the pandemic has really built really, really solid, strong relationships with our government officials. And that's because, you know, we follow the philosophy. It's always being honest. You know, we do not exaggerate. We provide them with facts that they don't know about. We share with them what some of the consequences of their decision might be. And they appreciate that. And that's part of the reason why, you know, when you talk to them and what we call, they always return our calls, you know? I mean, that's a relationship that we want to continue to build and nurture. And that's also with all the legislatures. And that's why we think this meet and greet that, you know, we have scheduled for on the 30th Monday. It's one of the many steps that we do to make sure that we encourage that relationship and build on that foundation that we have built up. And Victor, this year we have some new legislators. So my, you know, request is to anybody who is able to attend, the tickets are only $25, but to come and meet, especially the new legislators, right, Victor? Yeah, we have a lot of, we have a lot of new legislators and we have a lot of new committee chairs this year on both the House as well as the Senate. So the players that you think that was doing looking after, you know, a certain area of the economy before the players have changed. And so it's important that, you know, we come and meet the new ones, talk to them and, you know, share with them what you do. And the reason that we're having our government relations committee meeting on the 26th prior to the 30th event is so that we can discuss these kind of things, right? Victor, prepare for when you attend the 30th and you're face to face with these government officials that make these decisions. You know, the relationship we need to keep continuing this great relationship where they do return our calls and they do return my Texas and they reply right away, especially when they know that, you know, we have a very urgent question. Yeah. So really, you know, the name of the game is to get engagement. Yeah. And the thing that I tell a lot of the restaurant people when I meet them is that when you see a politician, whether it's a council member or representative or state senator that comes into your restaurant, don't be afraid to go and introduce yourself. You know, they are there as your customer, but it's also, you know, a good way to start the relationship at the grassroots level where you said, hey, thank you for coming to my establishment. You know, you know, here are some of my challenges that I face. Let them know, you know, I mean, don't be abusive, but they appreciate if you, you know, always call Joe and always provide them with facts that they don't know about. They might not be aware that some of those bills that they passed in a, you know, two, three years ago, that's not make sense. And maybe we can find a way to rectify that later on, you know, but these are the kind of things that they need to hear. They're good, they're better than ugly, but always be called Joe. Yes. And get to know your representatives, not only your home, where you live and where you vote, but also where your business is. Knowing your representative in your business district is also so important because as you mentioned, Victor, you know, getting to know them so when they do call and say, you know, we have a question and we have a comment that they will answer the call and your business is right in their district. That's exactly, you know, make them more than a customer, make them a friend. And anytime you need to reach out, they will return your calls, you know? Yes. And Victor, you do so much work. I tell you, during the legislative session, I think Victor works more for Hawaii Restaurant Association than he does for McDonald's because my phone is going off at four o'clock in the morning and we're talking at late at night, right, Victor, making strategy for the next day. So thank you. But thank goodness for technology, you know? We have Wi-Fi, connectivity, cell phones, so no matter where I'm at, you know, things can still get engaged. You can, it's easy to get engaged, you know? And Victor, I don't know if you saw my email yesterday. It's been dizzy because obviously yesterday was Monday and everybody's back. And then today we're at the hiring event here at the Doe Canary. The National Restaurant Association, Michael, will be flying in for this event. And yes, I sent you an email yesterday saying, sorry, Victor, I'm trying to help Michael schedule a hotel room and get him down here. And when he is here, the National Restaurant Association representative, Michael, he is attending our event and he will be able to also make a few visits and we will be having a government relations meeting when he is here also, Victor. So I'm still waiting for his flight information. So he'll be here for the 30th at least, okay? And then we'll hook up from there. Yes. I didn't get a chance to catch an email from you yet. So, yes, yes. And so it's been kind of busy. I mean, they see all my emails. So they know what's happening here at the Hawaii Restaurant Association and they all want to know, you know, when they can assist us and we will hear from him because, Victor, we want to know at the national level what the NRA, the National Restaurant Association is also watching. They're watching all the states and as they watch all states and they can let us know some of the things that may come here to Hawaii eventually, hit our shores. I'm very familiar with that because I'm also very engaged on the national side, all the states. So yes, you know, I cover for McDonald's, not just Hawaii, but the whole country. Yes, Victor is our National Restaurant Association liaison for their government relations committee also. Jai, Victor does so much. So, Victor, is there anything else before we close our show that you would like to make any closing comments? Well, all I can say is that don't be afraid, stay engaged. You know, if you don't get engaged, you know, you might end up being on the menu instead of, you don't want to be eating up alive. So you don't want to be on a menu. Okay, so you got to stay engaged. Really, it's not that difficult. Our elected officials are people like you and I, they mean well, but many times they hear one side of the story and they don't hear the business side of the story. And I want to encourage everybody to get engaged. You know me, my phone is always available. People can call me, email me, and I'm always working with my fellow restaurant tours to make sure that anything I can do to help because I believe that rising tide raise all ships. So everybody, we work for everybody. So, thank you. Well, I just want to again thank Victor for all of his time. I mean, he is just like the ever ready battery. He just constantly is going all of that effort. So he does all of his energy and supporting the food service industry. Victor, thank you for all that you do. It's my pleasure. And we'll see everybody on the 30th. As I mentioned, tickets are already on sale. Again, my name is Cheryl Matsuoka, the executive director of the Hawaii Restaurant Association. The Hawaii Restaurant Association is the voice of Hawaii's restaurants and food service industry. Thank you, everyone. Take care and see you soon. Thank you so much for watching Think Tech Hawaii. If you like what we do, please like us and click the subscribe button on YouTube and the follow button on Vimeo. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, and donate to us at thinktechhawaii.com. Mahalo.