HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Rising fuel and shipping costs are hitting restaurants across Oahu, forcing owners to rethink how they operate while trying to avoid raising prices.
Across multiple restaurants, owners tell us the challenge isn’t just higher prices, it’s figuring out how to adapt to them.
“We’ve absolutely seen between a 20 and 30% increase in certain categories,” said Michael Miller, Director of Operations at Tikis Grill and Bar. “We’re seeing it in a shipping cost, both via air and via ships coming in. And so that freight cost just compounds the cost that it is to bring everything in.”
Tikis Grill and Bar is a popular spot in Waikiki. Like many restaurants, they are coping with the new reality of doing business.
Fuel prices are quickly driving up the price to bring in food, supplies, and alcohol.
“We’re bringing in rum from Kauai, Kaloa rum. We love it,” Miller said. “It’s great local product, but the shipping cost to get that delivered to us has gone up.”
The Hawaii Restaurant Association says the impact could stretch far beyond some of Hawaii’s favorite eateries.
“When a restaurant doesn’t do well, we can’t order from the farmers, and then the farmers get impacted,” said Sheryl Matsuoka, CEO of the Hawaii Restaurant Association. “We can’t order from the suppliers and distributors.”
Hawaii’s recent minimum wage increase, which is now $16 per hour, has also added more financial pressure on restaurateurs.
“The minimum wage is going to go up again in 2028, two more dollars,” Matsuoka said. “If you have 20 employees, and the minimum wage went up $2, now your payroll increased by $83,000 just for 20 employees.”
Many restaurants, like the newly-opened Westman Cafe in Kakaako, are adjusting how they operate in order to avoid raising prices for customers.
“We analyze everything and see what ways we can cut our expenses,” said Ryan Ko, Vice President and COO of West Bank Group and Westman Cafe. “We designed a space to be a smaller kitchen so that we could offer more tables. It makes it a little bit tougher for the kitchen crew, but they’re really solid operators and they’re really well-trained.”
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