To Build and Sustain a Robust Group of Unique Restaurants that Support the Growth of Serious Cooks and chefs

XO Restaurant Group Mission Statement

To build and sustain a robust group of unique restaurants that support the growth of serious cooks and chefs.

THE XO RESTAURANT GROUP VISION

"A fortune teller told me that after I open our tenth restaurant, one will take off and I’ll be forced to franchise it.."
- KENNY LEE 

Where we want to go

The future is big for XO Restaurant Group. We plan to open 50-100 restaurants in Hawaiʻi – all with different concepts from high-end to quick-service. We want people to think, “Wow, thatʻs a massive variety of different concepts that are new and unproven.” We believe that opening proven concepts is easy. You can cook safe food and get the masses to praise you, or you can take a risk and do something far out there. We aim to offer a new lens on what Hawaiʻi cuisine could be.

The problem we intend to solve

The restaurant industry is infamous for underpaying and overworking their employees. Most hourly kitchen staff make poverty wages and are expected to come in early or stay late.

In 2021 Times Magazine shared a survey conducted by One Fair Wage that found 53% of restaurant workers were considering leaving their jobs. Among them, 76% stated the cause was low wages and tips.

Burnout is an epidemic in our industry. QSR.com (an acronym for “Quick Service Restaurant”) shared a 2019 study conducted by human resources outsourcing services provider, Paychex, that reported 80.3% of employees in the food service and hospitality industry feel burned out by their workloads.

The changes we believe our organization can make for the industry

We dream of a restaurant industry where workers are paid a living wage, where the imbalance between what front- and back-of-house staff earns disappears. In an effort to be part of the solution, we pay our team well beyond the industry standard to encourage other restaurants to do the same.

We aim to be a restaurant group that takes great care of its staff, who are trying to better themselves and be extraordinary. We enjoy seeing them hang out and have fun with each other after work knowing that they don’t have to worry about how they’re going to pay their bills.

We encourage collaboration in our kitchens, creating spaces to learn and share ideas instead of dictatorships that stifle curiosity and creativity. We train cooks to be leaders and manage up, taking ownership of not only themselves but also of the team so that we can get 1% better collectively every day.

“I used to question everything, even in high school.” Kenny said. “My teachers didn’t like me because I would ask so many questions. I wasn’t trying to question them; I was just asking questions. It was the same with chefs. They knew, but instead answered, “because I fucking said so.”

Working for different types of chefs, we learned what types of restaurants we wanted to run and what kinds of ethics and morals we would adhere to. The main goal will always be to support and uplift our staff.

“I want to take care of as many people as possible,” Kenny said. “When I started I thought, if I manage over five people in one restaurant, I can start there and then when I open more restaurants and hire more people, I can take care of more people in better ways than other people have treated us.”

We dream of a restaurant industry where workers are paid a living wage, where the imbalance between what front- and back of house staff earns disappears.

  • May 2
    2018
    Kenny takes over ownership of A Taste of Thai in Kaimukī
  • May 9
    2018
    Aleina Chun comes on board as sous chef
  • May 15
    2018
    First media dinner at XO
  • May 16
    2018
    Opening day of XO
    Don't enter the caves!!
  • May 18
    2018
    Also, throw that Gollum too
  • July
    2018
    XO is featured in Crave (Honolulu Star-Advertiser) – “Kaimukī’s XO marks the spot for local with a twist”
    Also, throw that Gollum too
  • August-October
    2018
    XO gets remodeled
    Also, throw that Gollum too
  • October
    2018
    John Maddela joins the team
    Also, throw that Gollum too
  • November
    2018
    Harrison Ines joins the team
    Also, throw that Gollum too
  • February
    2018
    Kenny has the dragon that is tattooed on his arm painted on the wall of the dining room to symbolize his transition to a “Big MF-ing Dragon” from “Baby Dragon” – a nickname he earned at Top of Waikiki.
    Also, throw that Gollum too
  • March
    2019
    Alena leaves and Harrison is promoted to sous chef
    Also, throw that Gollum too
  • November
    2019
    XO is profiled on Forbes.com in an article titled “Hawaiʻi Chef Transforms Food Scraps Into Fine Dining”
    Also, throw that Gollum too
  • December
    2019
    Randy Cayetano joins the team
    Also, throw that Gollum too
  • March
    2020
    Kenny and XO Restaurant are featured on the cover of HONOLULU Magazine for an article titled “11 Chefs Dish on Their Go-To Orders at Their Own Restaurants and at Others Around Hawai‘i.”
    Also, throw that Gollum too
  • March 23
    2020
    COVID in Hawai’i is in full effect. Mayor Kirk Caldwell orders Oʻahu residents to stay home and mandates restaurants to close their dining rooms and offer takeout only. XO begins an ongoing effort to create clever ways to survive, from selling frozen dinners to toilet paper.
    Also, throw that Gollum too
  • April-May
    2020
    XO is featured weekly on Forbes.com for a six-part series titled “Open For Takeout: A Restaurant’s Journey Through The COVID-19 Pandemic.”
    Also, throw that Gollum too
  • April 2
    2020
    Mayor Kirk Caldwell announces mandatory mask wearing in public. The following day XO starts making and selling masks and sells 150 in 15 minutes quadrupling restaurant sales since COVID started.
    Also, throw that Gollum too
  • April 16
    2020
    After sales drop again XO announces they will be selling Waffle Dogs. Buzz returns with 700 likes on Instagram and a line out the back kitchen door.
    Also, throw that Gollum too
  • April 25
    2020
    Kenny purchases a 67 pound ‘ahi and hosts a poke contest amongst his staff. Customers show up to place their vote and XO sells over 50 poke bowls in one afternoon.
    Also, throw that Gollum too
  • April
    2020
    The Honolulu Star-Advertiser acknowledges XO’s unique pandemic efforts, particularly their popular baked goods in an article titled: “A bake sale for troubled times at Restaurant XO.”
    Also, throw that Gollum too
  • May 10
    2020
    The restaurant practically implodes as XO serves over 1000 people in one weekend making family meals packed in pizza boxes for Motherʻs Day and several large pans of food for a Chef Hui distribution (a local non-profit organization that XO cooked for during the pandemic). Kitchen equipment starts breaking down left and right and friends and chefs from all over town show up to assist.
    Also, throw that Gollum too
  • August 3
    2021
    AV Restaurant starts its soft opening
    Also, throw that Gollum too
  • August 24
    2021
    AV officially opens to the public
    Also, throw that Gollum too
  • September 21
    2021
    AV is featured in Crave (Honolulu Star-Advertiser) – “This all-vegan restaurant won’t have you missing meat.”
    Also, throw that Gollum too