 Good morning everybody. My name is Mark Shklav. I'm the host of La Crosse the Sea and usually my friend talks about attorneys that are working in the law But today we kind of have a specist Hello, who was a lawyer Restaurant business and Daya is vice president Operating operat- officer of Nell And he's here today welcome Brian. It's very good to see you. Yeah. How you doing? Good. Good. Good. Great to see you Thanks. Thanks for coming in. I Right off the bat, okay. All right L Hawaiian barbecue. Yeah, Hawaiian franchise. I mean I've heard several names. What is L and L? What does L and L mean? You'll never guess it L and L mark means Lee and Lee it stands for Lee and Lee. It's You know the Lee family originally immigrants from Korea They opened L and L business around the Lee hi believe in the 50s or 60s and Very little very few people know this but they started as a dairy and they deliver you know milk and Back then and I probably should have brought some But they used to use these old-fashioned glass milk containers reusable Glass milk containers, you know that they used to do and they used to deliver that and they started out with that Business they eventually opened a drive-in a restaurant a small little restaurant. We still stands today on the Liga Street and Somehow in 1976 when Eddie Flores the founder of You know L and L franchise Stumbled across it. He said hey that little restaurant would be great for my mom to run and His mom is from Hong Kong China. His dad is from the Philippines But he said that would be a little great restaurant for my mom to run So he bought it for his mom as a gift. Okay, that's very nice and what I you know, we're around Around Christmas time now. Yeah, what was it a Christmas present to his mom or was it just I think it might have been a birthday present sort I mean there's always an occasion You know Course here, and I want to ask you a little bit more about Has been it's going but ask a little bit about you Come from and how you know, what is your? Okay, so I was born on the big island in Honoka I was my parents in the Philippines they're both and They met in the Philippines. My dad was working in the sugar plantations in the homo cook on the homo cook coast For many years. He actually was one of the First to arrive in Hawaii work on the plantation 1446 well, so he was a Sakala, so he was an Gentleman and when he was able to save up enough money to go back to the Philippines He met my mom and the rest is history and so I was born and raised in on the big island First in now all call a little town called. Oh, Carla. Oh, Carla. Oh, Carla, right? Right outside Honoka about a 10 minute drive outside of Honoka towards Hilo And eventually my family moved to Hilo So I graduated from Waikare High School in Hilo and went to last and Well, okay. Yeah, and and I know I've Taken some of your real estate classes, right? I know that you talk about your parents Yeah, you talk about your mom a lot, right? And I one thing I've learned from doing this show It's it's funny All the people that I've interviewed They're they're movers and groovers And they're you know, they got a lot of parents big influences on them Absolutely, and what what about yours? What I mean, what did they teach you and you know your mom you talk about your mom a lot Yeah, okay. Yeah Well, my mom's got a pretty colorful personality. Let's let's say that so it makes for great stories and You know, I used to just I When I first started teaching I used my mom as an example You know as a landlord where she kind of acts as a landlord And it made for some really great stories all true all true And I know this people respond to that I noticed people when I was starting to teach I didn't know what I was doing right, you know I came across and taught the classes like a lawyer like how a lawyer wouldn't kind of taught you the elements and Examples but I found that the best examples are real-life examples And maybe it's something subliminal that I don't even realize it when I talk about my real life Real-life examples that something comes out and people kind of connected right so for some reason people connect to that So I I've kept using those examples kind of a teaching Strategy as a teaching strategy and it never it never fails I think it's something that people can relate to grab their attention. Yeah, everybody has a certain relationship with their parents And it's taught me a lot myself in my relationship with my kids So yeah, you carry that for your whole life, you know, that's what I've discovered is is the parents influence you you think You think you're done, but no parents are incredible Influence on their children and whether they realize it or not or whether they think that they're Whether it's conscious or not whether they're consciously trying to Teach something to their children or not Kids on that they they are very keen and pick up on that and they don't know it themselves And certainly when I was growing up, you didn't realize I didn't realize it And there's always those stages in life where you go through where you know, no, I don't want to be anything like No, I don't want to make the same mistakes. No, I don't want to I don't want to do that, but You know, then you kind of come back full say hey, you learn from yeah No, you know, you grew up big island boy. Yep From a little country town, but then you went to the big the big city of you. Yeah, okay How did you ever become a lawyer? I mean, how did that ever ever happen? I mean, you know great story Your family your parents from the Philippines, you know immigrants Grew up in the United States in Hawaii great place to grow up, but how did you become a lawyer? How did that ever get into your your mind? You're you know For for you to be a go into that profession. Yeah, so the story I like to tell And I think people who grew up in those similar circumstances can relate to this But when I was growing up with my background and both of my parents Well, my dad was a plantation worker in the sugar plantations my mom Was also blueberry blue collar the macadamia not orchards and then later on in the factories and and whatnot, but Choices when you grow up When I was growing up were doctor lawyer engineer or that's what people tell you to do right choose one of those professions You can't go wrong Look at so-and-so look at this guy look at that guy. They know what they're doing, you know And so that kind of started me on And then that was something in your mind something implanted from yeah, I want to discuss absolutely absolutely That's something that I am, you know had in my mind. I mean and then When I was younger growing up, you know every family every every one faces different problems And I noticed that if you're a professional especially if you're for example You all a lot of different problems or you'd have the wherewithal the power the the skills the tools to be able to address certain problems Whereas if you don't then you kind of resort to other methods of problem-solving which which have their place I suppose you resort to fighting you were yelling screaming You know that that type of behavior, and I kind of wanted you know to have those problem-solving skills and also what made me go into law specifically as opposed to the other professions was in school I Notice I was you know, I was not I was not that interested in math and I wasn't that good at science sound like me And so you know by default here. I'm well here. I was you know doing law and You know it just kind of so something You noticed is growing up and you saw well lawyers Have a way to make things happen and solve problems, and maybe that's what I'd like to do And your parents must have been pretty happy pretty proud of you as you as you progress because I mean You you went on to become a professional. Yeah, right, right and where did you go to school? So I went to after I graduated from YK hi. I went to Portland State University in Portland, Oregon It was a big move for me and having almost never been away from the islands But I've always been intrigued that you know what the world the bigger world out there and what it's like and and to see Different places and and even the whole aspect of travel. I mean I've always been you know extremely You know interested in that although I never had really the opportunity as a kid to travel unlike, you know My kids for example And so here I was I said hey, I'm gonna make this move and I didn't have a lot of choices frankly Go to college. I wasn't the perfect kid by far hard to believe Double life And so I didn't have a lot of choice, but that was one of the choices along with a manoa you each one. Yeah Yeah, but I decided hey, I wanted you know something different. I wanted to Kind of get out of my comfort zone I didn't want to have a lot of friends and people that I know around me and you know I just kind of want in a fresh new clean start and see what what the world has well, you know and in a funny way Your parents did the same thing You know yeah, they left the comfort of home of course and onto the unknown and you did too Yeah, and and you went on to become a lawyer and what kind of a lot did you do? What what was oh by the way, what kind of food did you eat at in law school? Was there any L&L franchise or anything around you know that that's where I really am in college The job is and being away from home. That's where I really started to appreciate Hawaii and Of course the food definitely but every aspect about Hawaii Everything that went on here Just everything the culture The even though I'm not Hawaiian, you know, I don't have Hawaiian blood I mean even the culture the customs the way different groups interact with each other the Melting pot of different ethnic groups, you know coming together and that just really intrigued me and it really made me appreciate a lot more and Definitely in college Whenever there was a Hawaiian place or even an Asian kind of place, right? It just reminded me of home and it's like yeah Let's go there and I You know have other people from Hawaii and sometimes I'd have other people not from Hawaii and try to introduce them to Different cuisines, but you know, that's when I really found that hey, I really love this stuff I have a passion for Hawaii and Hawaii things Hawaii things in general. No, okay So you you went to law school you passed the bar What did you do? What did you do as a lawyer? Okay, so I first started and my first big break Right as it said, you know, I know my parents again. No no connections You know, we knew maybe one or two lawyers only because we had to avail their services You know, my my mom and dad got divorced the legal system then and and some other things going on But so it's not like we had a network right sorts So my first big break really was when I was in the second year of law school and at that time I had some choices unlike earlier in my undergrad Career or undergrad education. I had choices at that time. I did very well in law school went to DePaul University In Chicago. Okay. Nice, and I actually was able to get a Job a summer associate position in one of the big firms in Chicago good experience. Yeah, absolutely great experience It was a dream come true. I never thought, you know, I'd be working on the 80th floor of the Sears Tower You know, I'd see the Sears Tower and pictures and I'd read about it and a long way from Honoka I brought along from Honoka and so I had a choice whether to stay or or not and I got offered a crump ship By Justice Mario Ramil was on the Hawaii Supreme Court at that time So I decided hey, I'm gonna go back home. I mean I was That's when you graduated from law school. That's when I graduated There was it was a he said, you know, I've got I've got the position filled until 98 So you're graduating 97. So you're gonna have to find Something to do for a year. Okay. Well, wait a minute. We're gonna take a break. Okay for a little bit All right for a minute. Okay, and then we're gonna come back and I want you to tell me what you did after You got that clerkship. Okay. Okay. All right. All right. Thank you Well, how much time Aloha, my name is Justine Espiritu and I co-host Hawaii Farmers series with Matthew Johnson of Oahu Fresh We talk about Hawaii's local farmers and their supporters in order to have a Vibrant and sustainable local food system Farmers are always the foundation But there's so many other people and involved in the community that help support those farmers So we bring those folks on to our show every Thursday at 4 p.m We get their backstory their history find out a little more about them And we find out why they love what they do and their perspective and their advice on how we can continue to have a Dynamic and vibrant and sustainable local food system. So we again We broadcast live every Thursday at 4 p.m And you can also catch us on think-text YouTube channel as well as a Lelo 54 So we hope you tune in and join us. Thank you. We are back with Brian and Daya and Talking about his and we're gonna get into LNL pretty soon, but you got a clerkship with the Supreme Court Yep, I got a clerkship with the Supreme Court opened up a lot of doors Yeah, I remember in law school the town with my resumes. Yeah, not one single interview not one single interview The clerkship I have choices. I actually ended up looking Disbuilding and a firm called Dwyer Imanaka on the 8th. I still remember it vividly and Proudly, we were about a Year and then the firm split up so Mitch Imanaka West Fujimori I went with those guys nice group of guys. Yeah, you know Fujimori at that time So in about six more years there Love I was doing labor and employment law labor representing management. So it was kind of ironic that Both of you members And here I was, you know, yeah, that's Now how did you get into LNL? How did I mean you are again? boy from Big Island and you know, you're you're you're moving ahead you're you're Have all these opportunities and then LNL. How did that happen? Okay, so yeah first year. I still remember it first year in private practice at Dwyer Imanaka There was a party It was politically Because of the food and And socialized, you know, and you know, I was told to hey you need to get to know So I went and now I happen to be at the party and he happened to be there Flowers happen to be there the owner of the LNL franchise But I'm a friend of mine introduced us and he asked hey, what do you do and I said lawyer All I do labor Issue and he's not shy by the way He's not shy at all. I think that it's a You know, I got a pay as much and this all that you know, I disagree with Can you help me? You can look at it and and I kind of know what You know, and first year in practice, so he's probably thinking. Oh, okay. Yeah, they probably do it for cheap What was going through his head, but yeah, so I took on the problem I did my best that I could And eventually told him Very early on I said hey Eddie, you're wrong. What do you mean? I'm wrong. You got this is what you got to do That's what the law says And are you sure you've been practicing now that you haven't been practice for a year, you know I want a second. Oh, hey, you know by all means because I don't want us You know make a mistake here, you know, but this is what I'm seeing and this is This is my call and I'm calling it You know and so after a little himming and hawing actually a lot of himming and hawing he finally agreed and You know we got past that settled, you know settled and moved on and Not much long after that. He gave me more work to do Legal work to do and then he eventually asked me. Hey, do you want to teach? Do you like teaching? I'm like Yeah, I mean, I don't mind, you know talking in front of them, you know an audience, you know, and she said Ham is what I did is you see me with the microphone. I'm a total ham So he said hey, why don't you come in here? I've got a real estate school. I go. I don't know anything about real estate I only do labor and employment law. I told you And he's like no, but you know, they need to go on, you know, they need to know what harassment and discrimination I go, okay. Yeah, that I know So I'll do that. So I started doing that. Okay, then you got to know him I assume that after a while he says hey, brother. He says hey, brother. Are you happy practicing? Oh, I'm like, yeah, why I'm one of the best in town and what I do, you know, I've built this career and a long way More to go and you know, and my peers I think I'm kind of ahead of the game here You know, I make a decent living, you know, I mean more than I've ever You know with my background, I mean, that's more than I ever saw before and and So I truly was quite fulfilled and he said he but You know the thing is Don't you have to record your time? Yeah, because that's the way we do it, you know, you record your time and you multiply it by your billable rate And that's how you know it goes and he goes, what if I told you you can do something where it's not based on time And I was at that point I had my first Daughter my first kid and I said, you know, it would be really nice to have more time with the family Yeah, it would be really more it really would be nice to be able to travel the world a little bit more Yeah, it would be nice to do all these things lawyers don't always have that those opportunities Right, right, right, right because everything's based on time and so I was kind of at a point and we're kind of realizing that hey It's not just about the money and the compensation, but there's also a balance, you know, yeah Okay, what do what do you do? What what is the vice president and chief operating officer of L&L Hawaiian barbecue franchise, what do you do? Okay? Yeah, so and that was my question to You want me to do what I don't know. I've never heard of that. I don't know. I can't even flip a burger but anyway, so what what what the Job entails is really to run the data all the day-to-day aspects of the franchise and It's important to separate out the franchise part of the business with the actual restaurant operation So the restaurant operation is left to the franchisees Okay, and we Concentrate on the concept the model and the image Image and the system and the brand the brand the brand the brand concept image But also developing operating systems creating a system where people can follow and hopefully become successful really that's what That's what we have to offer. Okay, so you're you're you know, you're you're a lawyer from Hawaii, right? Okay, and You're now going into business. Yeah, and you know something that intrigued me that I didn't know is L&L has some other Stores in other countries. I know I know from talking to lots of my friends That L&L has places in other states. Yeah How did you what how did you get other countries and and what are you looking for more? Or what are your plans? Yeah, so up until now, you know, we've never advertised. Hey You want to buy a franchise? We've never ever done that. Everything has just been, you know, word-of-mouth and When you're successful at something people want to copy when people want a part of it And that's how you know you're you're doing well when people want to copy or people want a part of it And so really people just call up and say hey, you know, I was eating at your restaurant in In the Bay area when I was there for vacation Can I open one up in the Philippines or can I open or hey? And this is this is a true story our Japan franchisee that hey, I went to shaman not I'm a Japanese national but I was a foreign exchange student I went to shaman not and Just down the road is in L&L and I love the food so much and now I'm in a position to actually Open up a bunch of stores and that's Japan and so really it's about people just having some sort of Experience with our brand with our food. Where else do you have stores outside of the United States? So we have on our franchisee's is the franchisee. We have we have them in Japan the Philippines Indonesia and Malaysia We used to have in New Zealand And we used to have them in American Samoa, we also have them in Guam But primarily those Asian countries is where we we have them Honestly to be very very frank with you. It's difficult. The foreign countries are very very difficult. We used to have Three in China, but it's a very very difficult business. It's it's it's not easy It's for a different number of factors you have to hire Attorneys in those countries to help you or how have you done that in the past? We sometimes hire a local council in those countries to make sure that we're properly trademarked Although the trademarks now They've got You know once you register in your country if they go if they subscribe to the treaty or I don't know the exact Right, we do have a franchise lawyer that takes care of it for us Okay, then that kind of takes care of it of itself But sometimes you still need local council right to make sure that in that country that you've got the rights to you know the trademarks the trade dress everything that goes around and and and you know In your position growing up and being a lawyer becoming a lawyer How does that helped you in in in your present job? How was that? How did it helped you absolutely 110% you know my skills that I got you know in law school and then in practice Absolutely helps me every single day You know, it's funny, you know with law. It's really not so much a Particular skill that you get it's really a way of thinking Yeah way of thinking solving problems as I mentioned earlier. Yeah, that's what you saw growing up Yeah, looking at things very analytically and then thinking out of the box and saying here. What else what if this what about this? What about that and I think that level of skill and also as an attorney really especially in litigation it's it's really about It's really about a performance, right? It's it's about selling yourself or selling the idea Okay, selling your argument speaking about performance. I read somewhere that you knew a Hawaiian chant Is that right? Is that true? That's kind of true. It used to be a lot more true than it is today Well, give me a let me give you know, can you can you remember any of it? I I can maybe remember a few lines. I competed actually in the 1990 1998 Mary monarch I'd like you to chant us off Because we're at the end of our program Can you give me a few few lines from the chant? I I'd have to take a few minutes, and I'd have to okay That's something that I usually don't get stumped by Alright, so I want to thank you very much for coming on today, and I appreciate it And I want to hear about you know in the future about Allen L and where where it goes What happens with with with it in the future? Yeah, that was really quick. Yeah, definitely would love to love to talk more about it. All right. Thank you very much Brian Okay, I'll have one. Thank you