DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
It was a big crowd yesterday as people lined up at L&L Drive-Inn at the Keeaumoku Wal-Mart for 76-cent plate lunches and 10-cent drinks.
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Cheap grinds
More than 1,200 people line up to buy 76-cent plate lunches offered by L&L Drive-Inn
Mililani Mauka Middle School teacher Suzie Yamamoto spent her first day off from school waiting in front of Keeaumoku Wal-Mart for more than four hours yesterday morning -- for some cheap grinds.
The Mililani resident persuaded her two teacher friends, Brandy Quinn and Debbie Loeffler, to be first in line for the 76-cent plate lunches that L&L Drive Inn was offering from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in appreciation of loyal customers. The trio brought folding chairs, newspapers and their good spirits as they sat patiently from 6:30 a.m. and talked story to pass the time.
"It's really fun and we have a good time," Yamamoto said about waiting in line. "This is how we catch up."
"It's her competitive nature," said Quinn about Yamamoto.
Yamamoto admitted that this isn't her first time waiting for hours at the front of a line. She was also at the front of the line the day after Thanksgiving at Mililani Wal-Mart.
"It all started in 1983 at the Pat Benatar concert at UC Davis," Yamamoto explained about her front-of-the-line syndrome. "Fifteen hours was the longest I ever waited in line."
L&L Drive-Inn sold more than 1,200 regular-sized plate lunches during the two-hour period totaling nearly $1,000 in revenue, said Marketing Director Brandon Dela Cruz. Customers had a choice between chicken katsu, kalua pork with cabbage, and hamburger steak (all of which usually cost around $7.85), and each was limited to one plate lunch. Soda was also available for 10 cents. The proceeds were donated to Goodwill Industries of Hawaii.
The first 100 customers also received a free L&L T-shirt.
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
The first three to get their plate lunches and free T-shirts were Brandy Quinn, left, Debbie Loeffler and Suzie Yamamoto, who were in line from 6:30 a.m. until the special started at 11 a.m. All proceeds were donated to Goodwill Industries Hawaii.
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Yasa Faletogo drove all the way from Waianae -- a testament to what people in Hawaii will do for a plate lunch.
"How can you refuse a 76-cent plate lunch?" Faletogo said.
Melissa Huerbana, along with two co-workers, got in line a little after 11 a.m. for their lunch break. By then, hundreds of people were in front of them and the line went from the front entrance to the parking entrance and wrapped back down toward the shops on the side of the street.
"We don't mind standing in line because we sit down all day," Huerbana said. "It's cheap, plus we love L&L."
Last year's event, which celebrated L&L's 30th anniversary, served more than 1,300 customers in two hours.
"It's our way to say thanks to the community for their support," said Eddie Flores, president and chief executive of L&L.
The event is held only at the L&L in Keeaumoku Wal-Mart because there is a lot of parking and the kitchen is bigger than other L&L locations. When Flores put on the event last year, it was supposed to be a one-time thing, but because he likes the turnout and how fun it is, he plans to do this once a year now.
Flores said he charges 76 cents because 1976 was the year he purchased L&L, and in the '60s and '70s plate lunches sold for about that price.