L&L Hawaiian Barbecue, a fast-casual chain from Hawaii, will open a location its first location in Maryland in Rockville by the end of 2024 or early spring of 2025, according to franchise owner Michael Wu.
L&L’s specialty is Hawaiian comfort food in a plate-lunch form. Plate lunches are considered to be the state dish of Hawaii and consist of two servings of rice, one serving of macaroni salad, fried fish, a chicken entrée and another protein. At L&L, customers can choose from meats including barbecue chicken, fried chicken katsu, shredded kalua pork and fried shrimp.
In addition, L&L serves Spam Musubi, a popular snack in Hawaii consisting of cooked Spam and rice wrapped in nori (roasted seaweed).
The 1,500-square-foot restaurant will be at 785 Rockville Pike in the Ritchie Center and will replace Super Bowl Noodle House. The location is near Richard Montgomery High School.
The MoCo Show first reported about L&L Hawaiian Barbecue coming to Rockville.
Wu told MoCo360 on Wednesday he hopes high school students will come to the restaurant during lunch or after school.
“There’s a huge high school population that’s released around lunchtime. I want the kids to come and eat lunch here. I’m going to be making specific deals just for students,” Wu said.
First L&L Barbecue in Maryland
Wu said he believes L&L will be the first Hawaiian barbecue restaurant of its kind in Montgomery County. The only style of Hawaiian food showcased locally is poke bowl eateries, which serve rice bowls topped with raw fish, vegetables and sauces.
Plate lunches originate from the meals that wage laborers working in the 19th-century sugar plantations and pineapple fields would eat, according to the L&L website. “Lunches were often shared, resulting in a harmonious mix of home recipes from Japan, China, the Philippines, Portugal, Korea, and even New England,” the website states.
Other than plate lunches, diners can order barbecue meat and rice bowls; a barbecue cheeseburger; loco moco, a dish of hamburger patties topped with fried eggs and served with rice and gravy; and Spam Saimin, a Hawaiian noodle soup.
L&L has locations across Hawaii and in 14 other states including three in Virginia. There are also two locations in Japan.
Wu said he is aiming for the eatery to open before the end of 2024 but acknowledged that the timeline may be a “very ambitious undertaking.” If not by the end of the year, Wu is striving to open early next spring.
