L&L Drive-Inn is offering a free T-shirt for canned goods donated for the Hawaii Food Bank on Tuesday at its Wal-Mart location on Keeaumoku Street from 10 a.m. to noon.

L&L co-founder and savvy marketer Eddie Flores expects there will be a line out the door, not just because Hawaii people are known to be such givers, but because he predicts the T-shirt is going to be a hot item.

L&L always produces shirts to mark year-of-the-(whatever animal), according to the Chinese zodiac, but the coming year is the year of the ox.

Hawaii-born President-elect Barack Obama was born in 1961, also the year of the ox.

The shirt merges Obama's name, a muscular ox with a tattoo that says “;Hawaii”; and “;Punahou 1979, when he graduated,”; Flores said.

The shirt comes in blue and yellow, which Flores knows will be popular with Buffanblu-wearing alumni, but there's also a black and red shirt, for those whose sensibilities might be offput by wearing the Punahou colors.

“;The key is Obama,”; he said.

You think?

“;Obama is very powerful”; in terms of marketability, he said. Indonesia claims him as his own and experts predict tourism to Kenya will grow by as much as 20 percent this year, Flores has heard.

Hawaii visitor officials are also capitalizing on Obama's Hawaii ties to lure visitors who support the president-elect.

The original L&L 2009 shirt design bore an ox that said “;imua,”; but when Obama got elected, Flores thought “;hey, it's gotta be Obama, Obama will sell more. You gotta know what will sell.”;

The first 300 shirts, however, will be given away for free, first-come, first-served, to people who bring at least two canned items to the Keeaumoku Street L&L on Tuesday.

The first 20 of those will also receive a free Kalua pork with cabbage plate lunch.

Donors who arrive between 10 and noon but do not make it in time for the free shirt will receive a coupon for $3 off a plate lunch purchase.

Flores is also reaching out to his vendors to bring donations for the foodbank.

Flores fully expects to run out of the shirts, but knowing they will be popular, has more on order - just as he did with the popular “;I (heart) L&L”; shirts.

The new shipment of L&L Obama shirts will arrive from the mainland in a week or two and will be available for purchase from L&L Drive-Inn and L&L Hawaiian Barbecue locations in Hawaii and on the mainland for “;around $12 to $15, depending on the franchisee,”; he said.

“;I don't tell them what to charge.”;

    Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin. Reach her by e-mail at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).