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L&L now MIA
at Puck’s Alley

Hawaii's second L&L Drive-Inn is no more. Operating since the 1970s, the Puck's Alley eatery was replaced by Mike's BBQ, which prepares Korean food, in December.

"It had the tastiest food," said co-founder Eddie Flores. "It's a lot of nostalgia, because it was the second store and the only one with an open-flame grill."

Because of the restaurant chain's high-volume business, other locations don't use open flames, Flores said.

Patrick Chun, the franchisee who had owned the restaurant, operated it for more than 20 years and wanted to retire, Flores said.

Another franchisee was not sought, because "I wanted the deal to consummate so he can make his money," Flores said.

Whether another L&L will open nearby is uncertain since there are others within a few miles -- near Stadium Park, on Third Avenue and on Kapahulu, he said.

Meanwhile, a lease has been signed for a new L&L on Kauai and negotiations are under way for a new store in the Volcano area of the Big Island.

Flores also is focusing expansion on the San Francisco Bay area, San Diego and Los Angeles. Even further away, a second New York City L&L Hawaiian Barbecue opened about a month ago at 8th and 34th, six blocks from Times Square.

Meals online

Oceanic Food Court, the interactive plate-lunch partnership with anytimegrinds.com, has been added to the Oceanic Time Warner Cable Web site.

This means any Oceanic cable, digital phone service or RoadRunner customer can log in and order food without having to use the company's digital cable service. Users need not have their account numbers memorized, either, as logging in is possible with a phone number.

"The Web product helps us to serve our employed Oceanic subscribers at work," said Dean Luke, manager of new business development.

Initial electronic glitches that resulted in some dropped orders were resolved on Monday.

Most of the participating restaurants do not offer delivery service, but that is something anytimegrinds is working on. President Kyle Matsuyama has hired some drivers to deliver orders made from participating restaurants in the Pearl City and Waipahu areas.

"Right now we're just focused on seeing how well it goes in those areas" before any expansion of the service is contemplated," he said.

Matsuyama is hiring drivers and customer service personnel for order confirmation.

Meanwhile, Oceanic also has launched an interactive food court for its Maui subscribers.

"The potential for growth is huge," Luke said. "It's just a matter of time."