Slow Cookin'

Sugoi's gradual expansion and reasonable expectations have paid off

Sugoi's owner Zack Lee digs into some garlic chicken.

Zack Lee, owner of Sugoi’s Bento & Catering in Kalihi, could probably build a long and successful run as a restaurateur on his famous garlic chicken alone. However, as his menu selection shows, Lee is not satisfied with the status quo.

Since opening in 2000, the company expanded its seating capacity, continually added new menu items, grew the catering component of the business, and even began bottling Sugoi’s popular garlic sauce. Reaching out, as he did with the retail merchandising of the garlic sauce, is what Lee sees as his generation’s way of doing business.

Old-school business owners “have something good, they kind of stick with it and they stay like that for the next 20 to 50 years. But me, I’m a firm believer in trying new things,” Lee says.

Take, for example, how Lee got into the restaurant business. Back in 2000, a then 25-year-old Lee attended the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He had a bachelor’s degree in ethnic studies and wanted a master’s degree to become a special education teacher. However, he missed the deadline to register for requisite classes. He would not be able to register for another year.

So Lee quickly shifted gears and teamed up with his friend, Ross Okuhara (whom he bought out in 2003) who, like Lee, had good family recipes. The two set out to open an okazuya restaurant. Zack’s brother Ron, who was a Kapiolani Community College culinary student, was brought in as a manager. Zack secured a $25,000 loan from the Small Business Association and a $10,000 loan from American Savings Bank.

They looked at a number of locations but decided on their current spot in City Square Shopping Center. “There were only three stores in this shopping center [at the time] and we took a chance. I had a good feeling about this place,” Lee says. With Honolulu Community College across the street and the Department of Motor Vehicles in the same parking lot, he saw potential for his business to bring in lots of customers. Because of the DMV, he says, the place has been busy since day one. 

Lee wouldn’t disclose exact sales figures, but Sugoi’s sells 350 to 500 plate lunches a day, Monday through Saturday. Catering makes up about 40 percent of his business. In 2005, Lee started bottling the Sugoi’s patented garlic and spicy garlic sauces. Today, they can be found at most supermarkets in Hawaii, including Don Quijote, Foodland, Long’s Drug Stores, Star Market and Times Supermarket. It’s available at Marukai Supermarkets in Hawaii as well as locations in Southern California. He processes online orders via e-mail, and says he sends a shipment of two to eight bottles twice a week. His ultimate goal is to have Sugoi’s sauces in grocery stores on the Mainland. “There is a market out there, we’ll get to it one day,” Lee says. Sugoi’s sells about 4,000 to 5,000 bottles a month, and will launch a new flavor soon.

In fall 2007, Sugoi’s bought out neighboring “Us Is Nuts” crackseed store and converted it into a dining room and storage. The restaurant went from 900 square feet to 1,900 square feet, and seating increased from 13 to 44. Eventually, Lee would like to open up a second restaurant. Even with his penchant for change, he is willing to proceed methodically, as he’s done when implementing other ideas.

“I see these people that they expand so quickly, sometimes it’s not good, spreading yourself too thin,” Lee says. “But we’ve been open about eight years now, so it’s not like we’d be doing it too soon.”   

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