 and welcome to Restaurants Hawaii on Think Tech Hawaii. I am your host, Cheryl Matzoka from the Hawaii Restaurant Association. I am the executive director. Today we'll be hearing from American Savings Bank who relaunched the Hawaii Restaurant Card business holiday card. We're calling it the 2021 Hawaii Restaurant Card. And from Kapa Hale, a restaurant will share why this restaurant card is so important to the restaurant industry. First of all, I'd like to introduce our executive assistant, Siobhan Garcia. Hi, thank you, Cheryl. Yes, I wanted to introduce today, just as you said, we have American Savings and Kapa Hale. I want to introduce John Ward, who is the Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing and Product Officer for American Savings Bank. And I would also like to introduce, well, actually he's not on right now because I think he's busy doing his business and he's chef in it up, but chef and owner of Kapa Hale, Chef Keaka Lee, and his beautiful wife, who is also the co-owner of Kapa Hale, Heather Smith Lee. Welcome. So in 2020, the State of Hawaii launched the Hawaii Restaurant Card program, which infuses more than $75 million into the local restaurant industry. Today, thousands of restaurants still remain in survival mode and really need our community support once again as they struggle with reduced foot traffic, supply chain issues, and employee shortages. So to help provide immediate financial assistance to our restaurant and food service industry, American Savings Bank is relaunching the 2021 Hawaii Restaurant Card Business Holiday Card program as a way to give back and support local eateries during the holidays. These cards are available to purchase by businesses and entities, such as organizations, to use as holiday gifts, appreciation gifts to their clients, and just incentive programs. This is a terrific opportunity for businesses to please step up and support local restaurants and our whole food service industry while rewarding their employees and thanking their clients this holiday season. So John, the first question is to you, you know, restaurants and the whole food service industry is so grateful to American Savings Bank for agreeing to relaunch the Hawaii Restaurant Card. So the big question is, John, why? Why did American Savings Bank agree to do this? Thanks, Cheryl. Well, my first answer is because you beg me. We had a great time last year working together and working with the state when we were all thrown into this with initially a really good idea, but no ideas on how to really execute it. And so we partnered with our partner Pfizer who does a similar program for the federal government and for other states with a prepaid debit card platform and they put it together very fast. There were a lot of, you know, bumps in the road as we did it last year because it was so quick, but we really felt good about, you know, the $75 million going directly into not just the restaurants, but the entire food chain and the community because things were so bad. But as you've pointed out multiple times, things are still bad and particularly for small businesses and particularly for restaurants. And so we wanted to jump back in and do it again. This time though, American Savings Bank brought our teammates to the table to kind of redo the ordering process to take the orders, make it easier for businesses and entities to purchase the cards, to order them. They're on ASBHawaii.com right now with an order form and FAQs and a bunch of things to make this process a little bit easier. We also have changed a few things with the program. We've made the period of time that the recipients of the cards can use them longer. So they're good through the end of June in 2022. So that gives a little bit more time to, you know, have folks use the whole amount that's on the card. And we also have three ordering windows. The first window has already closed, but that's okay. We have two more where we sent the order over to Pfizer. They're processing right now. So the first order was 130 individual orders from companies, over 9,000 cards, and over half a million dollars in funding. We're hoping to blow up half that number, of course, with this week and next week. The next ordering window will go over to our partner Pfizer on Friday of this week. So we really want people to order now and they'll get the cards in time for the holidays and all that kind of stuff. If folks miss that second window, we are accepting orders through December 10th, and that'll be the third and final time for the orders. They'll likely get the cards by the end of the year anyway. But like I said, the use period is much longer through the end of June, so that shouldn't be an issue. But we're off to a great start, and it's really great to work with you and work with others, and we're really trying to do our part to help the restaurant community. One last thing I would say is there's a whole team of people out here at American Savings Bank who are checking the orders and making sure it goes through, wiring the money. They've just done a terrific job at getting this together, and I'm just so proud of them and happy to be part of this again. Thank you so much, John. And you know, everyone is asking me because as you know, there was the first Hawaii restaurant card, which was the CARES front. This is a very different card. This is being purchased by businesses, by entities, by organizations. So this card, John, we want to clarify this, can be used in restaurants. It can be used in bakeries, coffee shops, even bars and taverns. And because it's a pure debit card, people can also purchase cocktails. Correct? Absolutely. And wine and beer and whatever they want. So yeah, so that was one of the things we found last year, and this is a learning process for me. I'm a frequent visitor of Hawaii restaurants, but I don't know the business that well on the owner's side. But what we found is that the codes, the merchant codes that are used to kind of classify food versus alcohol versus purchases are a little bit different depending on how the merchant sets up their payment kind of processing system. So we expanded it. So it includes, as you mentioned, restaurants, bars, taverns, pretty much any local food business will go through. And that's an improvement over last year. Because it was federal, it was partially and mostly federal CARES money last year. We really wanted to limit it so that it wasn't all going to drinks. But this year, it's fine. It's the holidays and things are a little crazy, but we have a lot to be thankful for and want to be sure that people are able to use it and enjoy it at a broader group of restaurants and bars and taverns. And you have to know a lot of the bars that are our members were so happy when I told them that I said they can even put the tip on it. It's a pure debit card. So Heather, you know, Hawaii Restaurant Association sent out a survey and we pulled restaurants during the Delta variant, which was September and October. And the survey was taken during October because we knew that we're still in a very difficult situation. And the results from the survey was even worse than we expected, even though I am also an investor in restaurants. In September and October, 80% of the restaurants surveyed said they saw their revenue drop by 30% or more. And they did see that they expected to lose more if we didn't get out of all of the restrictions. And the main reason was foot traffic, you know, because we had less tourists here and we saw the visitor arrivals dropping by 27%. So Heather, the question to you is how important is this Hawaii restaurant card to our restaurant industry? And you speaking as a restaurant tour, you know, how important is this impact to restaurants? Thank you, Cheryl. It's very important a great opportunity for restaurants, employers, companies to do a small way in supporting the restaurant industry in terms of providing to their clients, their employees, a small gift. And, you know, in order to go out, have enjoy and have fun. And, you know, it's not tied directly to one restaurant. You're supporting the entire Hawaii restaurant industry, which is something that as a community, we all appreciate, you know, with the ups and downs and the fragile state of, you know, everything that we're going through every little bit helps. So this opportunity, you know, provides a lot for us. And I think something fun that you can give and something different to give to, again, employees, clients, someone that you want to say, we appreciate you. And, you know, have this meal on us, have a drink on us. And, you know, whether it's at Papa Hale or any restaurant, you're supporting local and we really are glad to be part of this opportunity. Oh, thank you so much, Heather. And you're right. You know, the stories that I get back, both John and Heather is, you know, businesses are purchasing it just because during the holidays, they bring in, you know, lunch for their employees and they can order it delivered through a delivery service and they can put it on their restaurant card because they're going to have to do a Christmas lunch or a New Year's, you know, maybe breakfast with donuts and food. So they're using it in different ways. They're using it as incentives for like perfect attendance. I've heard some businesses say that even sales incentives or target incentives, they're using the restaurant card for that. So they're ordering it. And as John had mentioned, the cards are good to June 30th, 2022. So you've got a whole, you know, six months to use the cards. Someone's birthday is coming up, a graduation in, you know, December. It is a perfect time. So thank you for saying that, Heather. You know, more so, Heather, you know, our whole food service industry, as you know, many of our members are not only restaurants, but it's the suppliers, it's the distributors, it's the manufacturers that if restaurants do well, right, we can support all of the farmers, the cattlemen. So maybe you can go through some of the other business partners that Kapahale has that now when, you know, businesses start picking up, business picks up for Kapahale, now you can bring, you know, bring back some of your employees and bring back some of the partners that you have to support the restaurant. Yes, we always try our best to connect locally with our farmers and purveyors and fisheries. So the more that business we get, the more that we can buy from them, try new things, look for new products, and, you know, being able to staff and offer more, for the more positions out there for employees, our current ones, we're always looking for new ones. But the more that we're able to kind of funnel back into the economy, I think it benefits everybody. We can have an endless list. And I know with the uncertainty coming up, take out, it's always an option with most, you know, restaurants, dining, bakeries. So, you know, this can be used in many different ways. So however you're comfortable, we support all of that. Thank you so much, Heather. So, Siobhan, do you have any questions for John or Heather? Yeah, my question would be for John. I know we mentioned that they can use them all the way up until June 30th of 2022. Is there a cutoff time that they can use them? The plan is at midnight on the 30th. We certainly want everyone to use it before then. So, you know, use it before. That would be great. But that's the plan. And if I could just add some of the ideas around and some creative ways of using the cards. We've had a number of orders come through where entities and companies have ordered the cards and they're donating them to local charities for distribution. And I think that's a really terrific way to, you know, give back and help the restaurant community but help others, you know, in need too. So, that's a terrific idea for anybody who wants to do it. And the last thing is, because as Cheryl had mentioned, because they're good for, you know, six months, it doesn't have to be necessarily distributed around the end of the year holidays. But rather, it could be a first quarter or even later gift incentive. Thank you. Opportunity for next year too. So, it's a good way to get something ready and help our community into well into next year. Thank you. Those are great ideas. And of course, you know, of course, we're going to encourage them to go to Kapa Hale. And, you know, Heather, I don't know if you can talk a little bit about, you know, we saw this card last year and, you know, you guys were just opening if you can give a little bit of background on your restaurant and maybe how you, if you were able to see the impact last year, even at the beginning of your business. Yeah. So, we did open kind of right when it was closing at the end of the first round with the cares asked for the restaurant card, but we had employees using them and we did have diners come in and ask questions if we, if we were accepting them. So, we're in the Kahala neighborhood and we do, you know, local Hawaii regional cuisine. So, we are a whole service restaurant for dine in and take out. And as we were new to the neighborhood, we were, you know, we hit the ground running. So, we had to learn all of the things that were in place, all of the things that we needed to accept or kind of figure out. So, with the restaurant card, I remember employees, especially who were coming from other restaurants or coming from unemployment and they were able to talk to us about the restaurant card and what they were using it for. So, we actually learned a lot through our staff that came on board with us about the card and it really helped them and it was impactful for them to be able to go out and enjoy and dine out. So, as we joined the restaurant industry team, the restaurant card was a great way to kind of learn how the care staff was getting back and being able to use that card community. It's great to hear, you know, I mean, a local neighborhood eatery is something that is so precious to a lot of communities. So, we're really glad to hear that it helped you guys and you were able to see the impact. And, you know, I know you mentioned you're an ASB customer as well and I, and I'd heard that there was emails that went out to all of the customers that are businesses through ASB and we're so grateful, you know, John, have you seen a big outreach from a lot of your business partners from ASB? Yeah, absolutely. So, that's one of our largest order populations, if you will, of the 130 orders so far are our customers and vendors, business partners, and it's just great that we can work with them to help support the restaurant community. It's really been overwhelming the support that we're getting and excited for this next round of orders and to be able to report back on how big that number gets and apologize to anyone if we've been harassing you. It's all going to a good cause and we don't mean to be harassing but we're all very, very excited about this program. Thank you. I know we are too and I know the whole community is excited about this program. It lets a lot of people make their own decisions where they would like to eat and it gives love to everybody which we want to see. So, thank you again. Cheryl, back to you. Thank you, Siobhan. You know, American Savings Bank made it so simple for restaurants and we sent it out to our mass distribution and John, you all made a poster that says, you know, the whole restaurant card accepted here and the restaurants are waiting for that December 10th date when they feel that the cards are going to land on our shores. Is that correct around December 10th? Yeah, it might be sooner in terms of when the first group of orders actually get their cards. Now, when they distribute it is not up to us. I think some are going to hold out, you know, to be closer to the holidays a little bit. So, I wouldn't think that you're going to see a big push on the 10th more towards the end of the month and then into next years where, you know, we'll really see kind of the usage. Last year we saw a lot of usage around the holidays, right? And that was exciting to see. Of course, last year was a little bit different time, a lot more restrictions and that sort of thing. But as Heather mentioned, the takeout and delivery options are really good. Those mostly go through. I did want to just kind of highlight, we tested a bunch of delivery services and most of them get accepted on the card. There are a few that get bounced back to the mainland and then don't look like a Hawaii restaurant, but mostly takeout and delivery are covered. So I would expect to see the cards pop up right before kind of Christmas, New Year's, and then, you know, well into first quarter of next year where the spend will happen. Well, you have to know I get calls immediately when a card shows up in a restaurant. You know, they're so excited when they see the card walk in the door and they call me and they said, hey, I got a Hawaii restaurant card today. I'm like, oh my God, thank you so much for letting me know. So the posters that American Savings has provided us has been e-blasted out. It's just the restaurants printed up. You can laminate if you want to. You don't have to. You tape it in your front door and you let people know that you're accepting the Hawaii restaurant card. So as people are walking by, they're like, hey, you know, I see a poster in Kapahali. I'm going to go use my restaurant card over there because they're accepting it. And that was the whole marketing that we're doing, John, to encourage people to put more advertising out there. You know, some of the restaurants, I asked them to put it up early to just keep it in people's mind that, yeah, that might be a great Christmas gift. So some of the restaurants are going to be putting it up early. So John, you know, we've got like another seven minutes or so. Is there anything else that I missed that we need to get the message out to our restaurateurs? As you know, we have people live watching and then we'll be sending out this link. Is there anything else that ASB would like to say about the restaurant card? I think just, you know, be patient because depending on the the denomination of the card, there are three denominations this year to make it a little bit easier. We had unlimited last year, which in theory sounded like a good idea, but it was a lot of headache. So there are $25 cards, $50 cards and $100 cards. The one thing I'd want restaurant folks to know is that if someone has $15 on the card, but their bill is $40, it will initially decline. So we just need to think about how much is on the card, have customers know how much is there, make sure that they're using it up, and then they can pay the difference in another credit card or debit card or however they want to do it. But that's kind of the only thing we really, you know, I think this will go very smoothly. I think because they're higher value cards, the average purchase last year was around $37. Now there was a wide, I'm a math person, there's a wide range in terms of, you know, on the higher end and the lower end, but most of the cards are $50 and $100 cards this year. So I think some of the challenges we had with, you know, using that last little bit on the card may be actually a lot easier this year. But that's the one thing is just to, you know, smile when somebody gives you the Hawaii restaurant card, think of American Savings Bank and Cheryl, everything that we've done over the last, you know, year plus to make this program work. And that's the main thing. I also do want to thank Gwen Yamamoto-Lau and Chair Luke and Governor Igay for their tireless leadership on this last year, which allowed us to do this. This was not our idea at American Savings Bank. We were kind of pulled in and they were the ones that really drove this last year, Gwen in particular, and we're just carrying the torch on their behalf. And you're so right. If it wasn't for Governor Igay, Chair Sylvia Luke and Gwen Yamamoto-Lau, this program would have not been what it is today. And so when I called John a few months ago, you know, begging him to please, can we do, you know, another restaurant card? I know he was like, okay, if I don't say yes, she's going to cry. So I better say yes. So we're so grateful, John. We're so grateful. So anyone who would like to order a Hawaii restaurant card, it's ASBHawaii.com forward slash HRC. Go to the website and order the restaurant card. Now before we close off, I also want to give Heather an opportunity to please say a few words about the restaurant card, about Kapa Hale, anything that you want to say in closing. Well, just a big thank you for allowing us to talk story about, you know, the things that are leading up in the community and the opportunities for people to help. I think as we, you know, are definitely easy in the holiday season. Similar to John, we appreciate patience and just know that we're all working very hard for you. We want to feed you. We want you to enjoy and, you know, feel that holiday spirit. So we're all just working hard and together to, you know, provide for the community. And you know, you can always check out our website for our restaurant. We have our menus up to date there. We have some holiday fun things coming down the line for Kapa Hale. So check this out. We are a neighborhood restaurant in Kahala, in the Kahala community. And yeah, thank you so much, Darrell. Thank you so much, Heather, for jumping on. Siobhan, anything before I close? The only thing I think we left out was if anybody is watching and they're a restaurant tour, and I would encourage Heather as well, we do have social media graphics as well. I know how many people follow Kapa Hale and other places. So, you know, if you're looking for those, we have those and we can get those to you. It's just another way to get the word out. Very good. Thank you, Siobhan, for putting that out there. So everyone again, ASBHawaii.com forward slash HRC, which stands for the Hawaii Restaurant Card. The Hawaii Food Service Industry is so grateful to American Savings Bank. Thank you so much for agreeing to do the Hawaii Restaurant Card again. And again, I'm Cheryl Matsuoka, the Executive Director of the Hawaii Restaurant Association. The Hawaii Restaurant Association is the voice of Hawaii's food service industry. Thank you, everyone, and we'll see you again soon. Mahalo.