TheBuzz Erika Engle

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2 isle restaurants get national ink and pixels

TS Restaurants, parent company of Duke's Waikiki and 11 other restaurants in Hawaii and California, is featured in "The NRN 50 -- Multiconcept Growth Companies," a special publication by Nation's Restaurant News, an industry magazine.

In industry jargon, a multiconcept operator has several restaurants operating under different names and serving different menus, though there may be some overlap.

The T and the S stand for the founders' names, Rob Thibaut and Sandy Saxten.

TS also means big dollars.

Chief Financial Officer Ray Burnett told NRN the company doubled its volume from 1996 to 2005, when it posted sales of $102 million. Hawaii's same-store sales were up 7 percent.

The story in the special publication profiles TS' corporate culture, centered around the concept of "aloha."

Mainland NRN readers will get a kick out of the principals' interpretation of the term "board meeting," which has them all paddle out on surfboards to catch waves -- oh, and talk business.

Yahoo! for Compadres and other isle eateries

The Best of Yahoo! for 2005 list includes several Hawaii businesses and attractions.

It ain't Conde Nast, but it ain't bad.

Buca di Beppo, Coconuts Island Grill & Bar on Kauai, Compadre's Bar & Grill, Haleiwa Joe's in Kaneohe and Top of Waikiki all made the list of favorite romantic restaurants.

You can ask a Web site "come again?" when you see something odd, but a Web site can't tell you why Room Service in Paradise is a winner in the best steak, best hamburger and best meatballs and pasta restaurant categories.