First L&L Hawaiian Barbecue In MD Coming In January To Rockville

ROCKVILLE, MD — Maryland's first L&L Hawaiian Barbecue location will open in early January in Rockville, reports said.

Grand opening weekend will run from Jan. 3-6, The MoCo Show reported, and include a raffle for a free iPhone 16.

The company's website says the restaurant planned for 785 Rockville Pike is coming soon and lists no operating hours.

L&L serves a plate lunch, also known as “the state food of Hawaii,” the chain said.

Plate lunches consist of two servings of rice, one serving of macaroni salad, a serving of fried fish, plus a chicken entrée and another protein, MoCo360 said.

The chain has locations in 14 states, first expanding beyond Hawaii to California. There are three L&L sites in Virginia: Annandale, Chesapeake and Suffolk.

About L&L Hawaiian Barbecue

When Johnson Kam and Eddie Flores Jr. introduced L&L to the U.S. mainland, they knew that most Californians were unfamiliar with the plate lunch. So they repackaged it as L&L Hawaiian Barbecue®.

Plate lunch – also known as “the state food of Hawaii” – dates back to wage laborers in 19th century sugar plantations and pineapple fields, who brought rice and other leftovers to work in compartmentalized tins. Lunches were often shared, resulting in a harmonious mix of home recipes from Japan, China, the Philippines, Portugal, Korea, and even New England.

In the early years, L&L Hawaiian Barbecue was a successful chain of drive-in restaurants with a reputation for serving fresh plate lunches throughout the Hawaiian islands. In late 1999, our founders – Johnson Kam and Eddie Flores, Jr. – introduced their signature, Asian and American fusion take on the classic plate lunch to the residents of California.

Since then, the concept has found fans around the world and there are over 200 L&L Hawaiian Barbecue restaurants in Hawaii, California, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, Utah, Texas, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Japan. Needless to say, in addition to the fresh, culturally-commingling flavors of Hawaii, every L&L meal is infused with the warmth of aloha – the legendary spirit of welcome that makes every guest feel at home.