ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
May 2, 2011 www.hpu.edu/kalamalamaonline
P18 Designer: Kezia Holm & Miriam Landru
Good to grill is good to go Entrepreneur opens grill near HPU downtown campus MICHAEL BENNETT student writer In the restaurant business when opportunity presents itself, it is best to have the grill ready to go. So when a vacant space opened next to Hawaii Pacific University downtown campus, local entrepreneur and HPU alum Jason Kim decided to open an express location of his popular Good to Grill restaurant. From a young age Jason exhibited a knack for business, forming his first venture at 14, pet sitting for neighbors on vacation. He also learned from his father, Donald, who has been a member of the local business community for decades. While the family history of entrepreneurialism was good experience for Jason, he credits the main reason for his desire to be an entrepreneur as a very simple concept which he summed up casually, “I always wanted to be my own boss.” While he was very successful in high school operating his own small businesses, he was most passionate about becoming a photographer, and had planned to attend college on the mainland U.S. However, a health condition forced Kim to reevaluate his plan to move from Hawaii. In adversity came an important lesson that Kim holds
close to him today. “I was forced to learn how to be flexible and adapt. Flexibility is a key trait of an entrepreneur” he said. He ended up enrolling and being accepted to HPU. Many changes in his life came with his decision to attend HPU. While photography had been his primary passion, Kim decided to devote his focus and attention to the field of business. Although he had experience and knowledge beforehand, it was an interesting experience for him to learn in the classroom some of the theory and concept behind his business endeavors. He also became active in business clubs like the Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) club, and other aspects of students life, such as becoming the Junior Class Representative for the student body government, SGA. He recommends students to become active in clubs, specifically those which incorporate a variety of majors in order to diversify the group around them. The defining aspect of Kim’s experience while at HPU was the diversity and culture he encountered during his time in college. According to Kim, for local students who stay at home, or any student interested gaining a worldwide cultural experience to complement
Not your average meat and potatoes, Good to Grill has everything from Mahimahi to Miso Chicken. Photo by Michael Bennett
their education, “HPU is a great place.” His motto while at HPU was to make and keep a lot of friends from all over the world. To him this has meant you make them while still at HPU, and then you keep them by visiting them in their home countries after. His travels throughout the world are a great example of the lasting effect an international-emphasized education can have on students. After college Kim worked on the mainland for a few years, and decided to return home to pursue business ventures. After a few years back, and with his business
partners, opened up three restaurants in the Kapahulu Safeway complex. One of them was unsuccessful, but his Burgers on the Edge and Good to Grill restaurants have done extremely well. While it was unfortunate that one of his restaurants failed, once again Kim garnered a valuable lesson in that one must concentrate on successes and not failures. He became motivated to work harder and continued to look for opportunities. After two years of great performance for Good to Grill, Kim started searching for expansion opportunities.
When a space on Union Mall next to the HPU campus became vacant, he hopped on the opportunity and started another location of the restaurant, coined Good to Grill Express. The restaurant is known for its high quality entrees such as specialty Braised Short Ribs. They also serve restaurant style sides like delicious garlic mashed potatoes and mixed green salads. Kim places much emphasis on speed and high quality customer service; you can even find him serving almost every day. With his new restaurants up and running, you would
think it would be time to kick back and relax. But Kim is constantly pressing forward and searching for areas of expansion and improvement. His goal in life is to start a business in another country, although he is not sure where. “I am going to focus on improving and expanding the restaurants I have already, and providing the best food to our customers and value to the community,” he said. You can find the menu and other details located at www. GoodtoGrill.com/express or on Facebook and Twitter as GoodtoGrill