Pounders Hawaiian Grill is a fast-casual restaurant that has become popular, quite quickly, since opening their first location in 2017.

• We had an opportunity to speak with co-owner, Kakela Peters, who gave us an in-depth look into the cuisine, influences, and history of Pounders Hawaiian Grill.

The name starts in a place located on the north shores of Oahu Island of Hawaii, called “Laie Beach Park.” But the locals know it better as, “Pounders.“

It is a beach that Peters’ dad grew up around. It is also a tribute to one of the first restaurants Peters ever worked at, which was located in Utah, called “Pounders Hawaiian Island Grill.”

• The Utah Pounders has since gone out of business.
• The previous owners gave their blessing for him to continue the name in his own business.
• He now has a Crestview and Niceville location.

Peters has been working in restaurants his entire life and he knew early on that this was something he wanted to do.

“After working at that first Pounders restaurant, it kind of connected something for me,” he said. “My Hawaiian roots felt more connected. From that day forward I knew one day I was going to do a Hawaiian restaurant.”

But before there was ever a restaurant in Crestview or Niceville, there was a food truck.

Food truck beginnings

In the summer of 2015, Peters says he reached out to multiple banks and private lending options for Pounders, but was denied each time. His grandparents were able to help him out with some of the initial financing for the startup costs, making Pounders Hawaiian Grill Food Truck a reality.

He says that Pounders was always a family business, not only with the help from his grandparents, but especially his wife.

“I tend to get all the publicity and limelight for this restaurant but really, it never would have happened without my wife,” he said. “She was pregnant with our second kid back then and I just remember her mixing macaroni salad in the kitchen. It really does help to create anything this big with a partner. She’s been there since day one and I love her.”

As business grew, a physical location was opened a year later in Crestview, followed by a Niceville location in 2019.

The menu at Pounders is simple, but strong in flavor.

There are 4 main meats to choose from:

• Garlic Chicken
• Teriyaki Chicken
• Teriyaki Steak
• Kalua Pig

“We keep our menu super simple, the difference between our chicken and other restaurants, is we do boneless, skinless, chicken thighs,” said Peters. “Thighs can be tricky, but we use a char-broiler, so it’s high heat. If you fillet the piece of chicken out, you can actually melt away a lot of that inner chicken fat, and it won’t be as fatty as your traditional chicken thigh that you would cook on a flat top or a frying pan.”

The Teriyaki sauce used is also unique, as it is made in-house from a soy sauce that was originally made in Hawaii called, Aloha Shoyu.

Peters says their sauce also takes inspiration from a restaurant he worked at in Utah called “Mo Bettah’s Hawaiian Style Restaurant.”

“I liked some things about their sauce, didn’t like others, so I played around with the recipe, and came up with the one that we’re serving here at the restaurant,” he said.

The pork item on their menu is called “Kalua Pig” and is a traditional Hawaiian dish. Normally it is cooked using an “Imu,” which is an underground oven. And while the Health Department wouldn’t be too happy with an underground oven, Pounders does replicate the traditional cooking conditions inside the kitchen.

“It’s not your traditional Southern-barbecue pulled-pork slathered with barbecue sauce,” he added. “It actually stands on its own really well and pairs nicely with rice, macaroni salad, and steamed cabbage.”

The White Rice, Macaroni Salad, and Leafy Greens/Steamed Vegetables are offered as sides. Also offered are various beverage options including an “Aloha Maid” drinks assortment.

At Pounders, they also take customer service very seriously. With over 1,400+ reviews at the Crestview location and 800+ reviews in Niceville, both of the locations currently hold a 4.8 star rating on Google.

“Every Tuesday we have management meetings and we go over these reviews, we pick through them and we dig into them with our managers and say, “Okay, what could we have done better here?,” explained Peters.

• “Our mission statement is to live and share the Aloha spirit, and then serve excellent Hawaiian-style food.”

“You’ve heard the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. I think the Aloha spirit takes it even a step further and it provides a sense of love for others that they weren’t aware existed,” he added. “It’s a very hospitable sense of love and we try to implement that here at the restaurant as best as we can.”

Aside from caring for customers, caring for his employees is just as important. Both restaurants are closed on Sunday’s and Monday’s.

“This is a tough industry and it’s never been tougher than these past two-and-a-half years through COVID,” he said. “I don’t want our managers spending 20 hours a week hiring people. We have people that work with us today that worked with us on the food truck 6 years ago. What we’re doing here is more than focusing on profit-loss statements. We are creating something that people can find and be a part of for the rest of their life.”

And if you are looking for a job, Pounders is always hiring.

“If there’s a good application, we’ll make space for that person,” he said. “I want my employees to succeed and will put them in the best position to do that.”

Pounders Hawaiian Grill currently has two locations in operation.

• Niceville: 142 Palm Blvd N, Niceville, FL 32578
• Crestview: 1338 N Ferdon Blvd, Crestview, FL 32536.

Peters says that he would like to open a third location, but no decision on specifically where has been decided.