[ALOHA] Kings Hawaiian to Launch New Restaurant Concept in Metro Atlanta

A popular bakery is planning a first of its kind fast casual restaurant in East Cobb. The Taira family, owners of King's Hawaiian, plan to open a new fast casual restaurant in an outparcel of the old Georgia Theatre Company (GTC) Cobb Place 12 Cinema complex near the intersection of Gordy Parkway and Shallowford Road.  The outparcel is being created by repurposing excess parking no longer needed given that the theater is being converted to a climate controlled self storage facility.  

Plans submitted by property owner Stein Investment group (SIG) to Cobb County Planning indicate the freestanding restaurant will be about 3,200 square feet plus a 200 square foot patio, a drive-thru and 29 parking spaces.  The restaurant reportedly does not yet have an official name but is referred to in filings as "Project Ohana" (Ohana is a Hawaiian term meaning "family").

SIG's request to alter an existing site plan - approved by commissioners in 2021 - to allow for construction of the restaurant was to have been heard by the Cobb Board of Commissioners October 18 but was pushed to November 15 due ongoing discussions with local residential groups and tweaks to the restaurant's landscape plan.  

Last November it was announced that King's Hawaiian had invested $30 million into expanding their existing Oakwood production facility in Hall County over the past two years.  Earlier this week it was revealed that King's Hawaiian was furthering their commitment to Georgia with plans to invest more than $85 million into a new facility across the street from their existing Oakwood bakery.  The new facility will be located across the street from the existing bread production plant and will house a 150,000 square foot bakery with space for future expansion and will enable King’s Hawaiian to continue to increase production significantly. The new facility is slated to open in fall 2023.

Established in Hawaii in the 1950s, King's Hawaiian moved its headquarters to Torrance, California in 1988, at which time it also opened its first restaurant, The Original King's Hawaiian Restaurant on West Sepulveda Boulevard.  In 2002, the company opened its second restaurant, The Local Place Bakery & Cafe, also in Torrance.  While both restaurants are open for all three day-parts, and both are open seven days a week, The Local is counter service, whereas The Original provides a full-service dining experience.  

Sources close to the restaurant tell ToNeTo Atlanta that the exact menu for the new eatery is still a work in progress but that it will likely be heavy on traditional Hawaiian fare.  

East Cobb News, which first reported on SIG's plans, indicates that the new restaurant is one of several that King's operates locally, joining others in Lithia Springs, Flowery Branch and Gainesville.  Sources tell ToNeTo Atlanta the company is scouting at least two other sites in metro Atlanta but we were unable at press time to confirm any exact locations.  

UPDATE: A ToNeTo Atlanta reader informed us that another "Project Ohana" restaurant is already under construction at 1881 Jesse Jewell Parkway in Gainesville.  

Have you been to either of the King's Hawaiian restaurant in California?  Are you excited for the opening of the new King's Hawaiian restaurant in East Cobb?  What is your favorite Hawaiian dish?

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