Ryan's Grill
" A place where great food, great drinks, and great memories are created."
Ryan’s Grill (1983-2018) was located at Ward Centre 1200 Ala Moana Blvd, it was the social-place to be and a mainstay of meeting up with colleagues, friends, and family as a social spot of the 1980’s. It was one of many businesses with Restaurants Unlimited with Kincaids, Horatios, and others. People would also be going to Ward Centre and have Ryan's Grill as the main reason to be at the place itself for the heartwarming staff and the wonderful sense of aloha throughout the room of mostly locals. It was definitely everyone's must go spot for socializing after work and was a huge local favorite with retirement parties, meetings, and people in government all having a cocktail or two with heavy pupus. It was a place that would target those who would be going to the bar at nights and was known as a place people hooked up in the evenings with dates or at the bar.
The menu would have a variety of fries: salt seasoning, Jamaican-Jerk seasoning, Volcano spice seasoning, Thai Chili-Coconut Aioli, Barbecue Aioli, Gorgonzola Cheese Sauce, and some customers would order a side of the Artichoke Crab Dip. The look on the inside definitely looked like old wood with a dark feel and was more for nightlife and discussions with a very sports centered theme mixed with local trinkets here and there. Happy Hour was when locals would come as the open seating would be a great draw and was a default place to meet up to talk for awhile, but the high costs didn’t make it easy for people to want to frequent there. When college students went for the drinks they would mostly go for the margaritas and the bar staff as they stated “it felt like mom or dad was behind the counter” as they went for the draw that their parents used to go when they were in college and hanging out there was more old fashioned and traditional than anything else.
While it would always be busy it would be people mostly talking and not ordering too much as they would talk and talk and it would seem that take-out and affordable larger family-meals would be necessary for them to survive. The reputation of the place would be that it was more of a gathering spot and place to eat for an affordable price, but as years went on the cost went up and the portions didn’t grow with those prices. People would at one point mostly go for the nostalgia of Ryan’s, because while it introduced them to many different dishes that were really of the 1980-1990s food era it couldn’t quite update things to fight against the competition.
Ryan’s Grill Menu Items: Ginger Soy Edamame, Sweet Potato Fries, Salmon Kama & Belly with Kalbi Sauce, Kalua Pork Quesadilla with Pineapple Chutney, Ryan’s Crunchy Pea Salad, Calamari with Ginger Hoisin Sauce, Duck Bao Buns, Kalua Pork Sliders, Seared Ahi Poke, Pulehu Ribeye Steak Pupus, Gyoza with Sweet Spicy Sauce, Kobe Sliders with mustard aioli, Chicken & Pork Lettuce Cups with soy garlic dipping sauce, Kalbi Chicken Wings, Grilled Kalbi Tidbit Pupus, Buffalo Chicken Wings, Kim Chee Fried Rice with Egg, Ahi Loco Moco, Ahi Belly Katsu, Cucumber Kim Chee Slaw, Miso Salmon, Tempura Cheese Curds, Kalbi Burger, Huli Huli Chicken, Ryan’s Kobe Loco Moco with Crispy Onions, Big Braddah Breakfast (fried rice, kalua pork, bacon, portuguese sausage, four eggs).
Thanksgiving Menu Items: Kalua Turkey with Pineapple Cranberry Relish, Opah with Chow Mein Noodles, Apple Caramelized Pork Chops, Slow Roast Prime Rib with Herb Au Jus, Miso Butterfish with Soy Ginger Glaze, Wakame Namasu.
Fundraisers, Walking, and Sports
Watching the sports games there were those that came to see the NFL games and catch them at the restaurant. One bar seat warmer remembers the time he saw Tennessee Titans' Marcus Mariota who tied the NFL record for most touchdown passes in the first three games. Scotch Whiskey Club, would have people finish all of them as a challenge to get a shirt and a gift certificate as well as the person's name placed on a plaque. There used to be personal bottles of scotch that were displayed on the back bar for the club as well for all to see.
Kincaid's Closure
Kincaid's closure, A lot of people were out of a job after the sister company Kincaid's had teenage closure during the time they were getting rid of ward warehouse. It was already a pretty sad time, but people have to work so some of the staff would go for to Ryan's grill, but there were worries about being unsure of the work atmosphere. The transferees were welcomed the old fashioned Hawaiian Ohana way and not the fake corporate family sort of way, but the real old school local kine way as an actual working family. One transfer staff member said it was a blessing to work beside such honest working people.
At End of the Good Times
Changing times of High-rise Condos, as bars were starting to have less alcoholic menu items, couches like a cafe instead of tables, and becoming more of a place a person could chill with people or chill alone with their food and drink the feeling of Ryan’s would remain consistent with its 1980’s appeal. Competition was fierce with mainland chains like: Buffalo Wild Wings targeting Sports Fans, Dave and Busters gathering Nightlife crowds, and California Pizza Kitchen being the new place to take dates and friends. This made it difficult, but the rising costs of shipping and the location of Ward being a target for destruction of large condos made it almost inevitable the business would have to close. It was popular to blame the age-market of millennials by news media, but it really was that the business stuck to its clientele and the centre itself might have already known that it was going to be replaced by high-rise condos as was rumored at the time.
Bars would start to close down as people had less income to go-out and with the internet knowledge of drink making was everywhere with people in mass making their own cocktails in a trend from 2014. With people becoming more health conscious with balanced meals the consumption of alcohol had become the social right of passage for youth to an option of “You do you” with much of that money going to events that were diverse and specialized. This would include: alcohol coffee-bars, microbrewery bars, board game bars, arcade game bars, but the biggest change would be that take-out and home-delivery would see such substantial growth many wouldn’t leave the home. The things served were becoming outdated, generic, or just not unique to Ryan’s Grill anymore and it made it difficult to go out to get drinks and food when much of it could be done at home.
At the closing, the news stations were there and people were shocked to hear that one of the most famous places for pupus and social meet ups would be closing it's doors. People flocked to get dinner reservations, but the list was booked for many solid days and weren't taking any more reservations. Their last night was 1.19.18. so many memories were made there and it was special with many people's hearts and tummy's full of great food and company.
Ryan’s Crispy Pea Salad
Mayo Cream Sauce- ¼ cup mayonnaise, ¼ cup sour cream, ½ tsp kosher salt, ½ tsp white pepper.
Mix 12 oz frozen baby peas, ¼ cup snow peas strings removed, 1 can water chestnuts diced, 2 Tbsp red onion minced, 3 strips bacon diced and crisps or bacon bits. Refrigerate for 24 hours before serving.
Ryan's Crab and Artichoke Dip
2 cups king crab meat, 2 cups mayonnaise (Best Foods preferred), 2 cups canned artichoke hearts (not marinated), roughly chopped, 2 cups grated Parmesan cheese and for it to be cheesy add 1 cup swiss cheese, 1 onion, thinly sliced (use a mandoline if possible), Lemon wedges, Combine ingredients and spread about 1 inch deep in a shallow ovenproof casserole or baking pan. Place under a broiler set on high until the top is brown and bubbly. At home bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until top layer brown.
Pastas (Ryan’s Grill)
A late-customer who use to go to Ryan’s would order the pastas and pizzas for his family as he was heading back home with some of the favorites being the: Pan-seared Shellfish Fettuccine, Rigatoni Bolognese, Herb Chicken Pesto Penne Pasta, and the Cajun Chicken Fettuccine.
Li Hing Margarita (Ryan’s Grill)
A Margarita is a cocktail based on the category of being a sour-drink and some of the most well known places for Margaritas in Hawaii were: La Marian Sailing Club, Wahoo Fish Tacos (Mango Margarita and Lemon Lime Magarita with Overturned Beer Bottle), Mexico Cantina Margarita Bar (Strawberry Coconut Lavaflow inspired LavaRita, Pina Colada inspired PinaRita), and Ryan’s Grill (Li Hing Margarita and Lilikoi Margarita). Hawaii Maragaritas would come a long way with “Overturned Hawaii Margaritas” Overturned Island Lager-Beer Bottle Margaritas, “Margita Slushy” Frozen Margaritas, and Hawaii Margaritas.
Ryan’s would be known for their frozen margaritas that used sour li hing powder and was salty, sweet, and sour. It was something that really would say drinking with friends in Hawaii and was similar to a slushy in its appearance as it was known for in the 1990’s as a “Hawaii Margarita”. Because of the success of the Ryan’s Grill Li Hing Margarita people would think of Frozen Margaritas as a Margarita in Hawaii. The nickname of “Margarita Slushy” was for its appearance to a 7-11 Slushy, but that isn’t too far from the origins of the Frozen Margarita Machine (1971 Mariano Martinez) as it too was actually inspired by the Slushy at 7-11. Hawaii Magazine Editor Catherine Toth Fox would drink Li Hing Margarita all the time.
When things were getting more costly to go to bars and people would find themselves low on cash they would start to make their own Li Hing Margaritas at home, which would bring cocktails like the: Li Hing Apple Margarita Slushy (Color green), Li Hing Makai Pineapple Margarita Slushy (Color blue), Li Hing Fruit Punch Margarita Slushy (hawaii fanta fruit punch. Color pink), and Li Hing Passion Orange Margarita Slushy (hawaiian sun passion orange. Color orange).
Staff Included [staff is separated from groups: Colin Coberly, Robin Uyeda (Executive Chef), Karri Burnett Craven, Jeff Swafford, Jeff Catorna, Juliana Perez, Cheryl Taong, Deb Debra Costello
[1983-1987] Cedric Lam Ho (1983 crew), Julie Kerns Schapa (1987-2005),
[1988-1991]
[1992-1995] ???
[1996-2000] Katie Dean Kida (1997-2004), Kalei Lima (1999-2009), Travis Armstrong (2000-2005),
[2001-2005]
[2006-2010] Cameron Von Cleve (2006-2010)
[2011-2018] Eric Goodhew Executive Chef (???), Jobbie Demenden Executive Chef (???), Joseph Williams Sous Chef (???), Kris Fleming Executive Chef (???), Candace Karanovich Hostess (2015 crew)
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