In the 1950s, there was interest in lunch counters that were a restaurant or attached to a drug store. A popular lunch counter would be at Woolworth Store and a few others which were the go to place for all sorts of items. Lunch Counters would be what would sometimes include a fountain or built over a fountain with soda services and ice cream. It definitely was a place or destination to go to when heading into "town-side" of Oahu which was what they called Honolulu as a nick name.
These counters that served a lunch with a soda, float, or a shake would be later known more for their lunches. They would later on be referred to as "Lunch Counters" due to their growing list of lunch menu items. Regulars from old lunch counters reminisce the simple times of establishments set as community hubs and more interested in serving the people than making a large sum of money in the simpler times. Lets head back to the 1970s, when there were much less soda fountains that were dedicated to drinks of an earlier time and more were converting into full-service lunch counters to stay afloat. Lunch counters would serve soups, crackers, breads, sandwiches, plate lunches, and ice cream sundaes. It still had a slight influence of the ice cream being served as it was in the earlier days, but many knew that changes in eating were starting to take place with convenience gaining momentum in the market place. Lunch Counters Growing up in Hawaii back then there were many people who had anywhere from four to eight siblings on average. Many had to eat what was known as soft meats which were less desirable cuts. These could be found at lunch counters across the state of Hawaii that was starting to have a larger interest in baked goods like breads which would also create an interest in more soups. At the lunch counter they made some good breakfast with eggs and toast, Spanish Omelet, coffee, and more. This would not stop peoples love for rice though, since they would dip their rice in the soup when they wanted to stretch the flavors with starch. This enjoyment of rice would eventually leave many lunch counters needing to add Plate Lunches to their menu to survive instead of solely surviving on Dinner sets and Seafood Platters. Many of the foods were fried when it came to the seafood, because that is how it was back then at the lunch counter. Lunch counters started out selling breakfast plates and sanwiches from their deli area of the restaurant. This menu of items would include: Bologna sandwich, Bacon lettuce tomato, Ham Sandwich, Tongue Sandwich (Soft Meats), Teriyaki Beef Sandwiches, Tuna Fish Stuffed Tomato, Egg Salad Sandwich, Grilled Cheese Sandwich, Hot Beef Sandwiches (roast beef, gravy, cream whipped potatoes), French Dip Sandwich with Au Jus Dip, Toasted Clubhouse Sandwich with Chips or Potato Salad or Macaroni Salad and optional brown gravy. Other foods would include Pizza Slices, Fried Chicken in a Bag, and Salisbury Steak. The menus back then were really expansive and expensive to keep up with as their were all sorts of ingredients. This would be the start of what would introduce many people to what would be called "Haole Kine Food" from the mainland. Haole Kine Food The Haole Kine food at lunch counters encouraged local food eaters and hawaiian food eaters to try food from the mainland. Many would start eating more western ingredients into their diets as the food from lunch counters and other western eateries began becoming more affordable. While it was seen as a imported food of the west to the Kama'aina residents it would be familiar for some and start influencing the way Local cooking. What started as Western food no different from the mainland United States would start taking its own turn and reinvented the Local way. The foods were so different from what was eaten in peoples homes at the time and even more different from the food that people shared on the plantation. But it would be convenient and special to go back then so people made a special trip and go order some haole kine food. Grilling Burgers, Hot Dogs, and Fried Chicken Lunch counters use to have a grill that they would butter up the Onion Buns and grill the buttered buns to make it taste a bit fatty and crisp at the same time. They would do the same for the home made hot dog buns they were called "Yankee Hot Dog Home-made Buns". They too had a bit of that buttery crisp when people bit into it. It would often go well with some fries and a shake or float. If there was left over toasted bread there would be spaghetti placed in between to make: Baked Spaghetti Sandwiches (toasted garlic bread, baked spaghetti, sausage, cheese). It was a way to use the left overs and still sell a sandwich while using the cheese at the same time. People had to get creative with their sandwiches, because with everything made fresh it wouldn't stay fresh for long. The Fried chicken was some of the most popular items on the menu and was ordered so often that the lunch counters would smell of fried chicken. The grease would be all over the place as the fried chicken was placed in big bags and given over to the customer. A particular part of the chicken that people would grow to love is the chicken wing for its juicy fat and great crunch of its skin. Lunch Counters Lost to the Local Eateries The Menus would slowly change over time for many of the lunch counters that were in stores with additions of an Okazuya area with Cone Sushi, Musubi, and Sushi Rolls. It was sort of the all in one lunch counter where you could get all sorts of food without much of a limit to the imagination from the countless items added at this time. People would start to get overwhelmed with choices and have a hard time picking out what they were in the mood for. This only got more complicated as they started making plate lucnhes of: Shoyu Butterfish Plate Lunch, Teriyaki Steak Plate Lunch. And this was the transition they were trying to make while keeping up with other eateries that were opening at the time. The market started getting specialty shops that had a specialized menu that did a certain number of foods great without a large amount of choices. Having less choices allowed them to focus more on certain dishes to make them better and improve on those few items and it lowered the chances of losing money to food going bad. Instead of a Deli area there were Local Delicatessans, instead of a Okazuya area there was a Full-Okazuya and Bento Shop, instead of just burgers there were Drive-In Restaurants. The field of how customers ate was clearly changing with the popularity of hip automobiles. This would continue to change lunch counters with the additions of: Saimin, Fried Saimin Noodles, Chow Fun,Hawaii Chili and Soda Crackers, all of which can be common place in a Saimin Shop. Some Fountains that still exist today don't have the soda drink menu, but they do have the changes of all the starchy dishes and local influence that changed them forever. A notable fountain is "Jane's fountain in Liliha Oahu". The Closure of Many Lunch Counters Large corporate franchises were starting to creep in from the 70s and into the 80s where there was much more competition. Lots of fast food restaurants would be decreasing sales of local drive-ins, lunch wagons, and lunch counters. Each was effected as food from the mainland chains were seen as exotic and appealing as well as exciting because it was very different from the food found in Hawaii previously. As many business major corporate businesses moved in the conclusion would be many wiped out diners, lunch counters, coffee shops, and there was a large die-off of business around the ending of the 80s. As large national chain companies grew larger and larger to push more money for a better product a more affordable product with a recognized brand name all the surviving shops slowly die off as well. Some that do survive the lunch counter apocalypse, such as Jane's Fountain, Liliha Bakery, Zippys, Annamillers, and Ken's House of Pancakes Counter are far and few between. Notable Areas: Kailua Soda Fountain, Kress Tore Soda Fountain, Woolworths Ala Moana, Waimanalo sundries
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