From the surfboard inspired red and yellow sign above the doorway, you would never guess that a posh, San Francisco lounge-style restaurant was pumping top-forty’s music to five-star cuisine just beyond the festive white Christmas lights that frame the establishment’s simple façade. Once inside, the Chanel pink glow emanating from the ceiling-high shadow box behind the bar lends the illusion that you are now amongst Hollywood’s finest…and you wouldn’t be too far from the truth! Celebrities such as Dave Matthews, Rob Schneider, Cliff Curtis, Reggie Miller, the Prince of Monaco, and our very own Colt Brennan have been spotted dining alongside the beautiful local women, dashing young professionals, spirited college students and sharply dressed service industry clientele that have come to call Uncle Bo’s Pupu Bar and Grill home over the last two years. Drawn to 559 Kapahulu Avenue for the tantalizing, eclectically inspired menu, relaxed atmosphere and friendly, upbeat staff, it’s not difficult to see how regulars and tourists alike have kept this locally run family establishment alive and thriving during a time when other restaurants are struggling just to keep their heads above water. “You feel like everyone’s your friend!” says loyal patron Bob Escalante (38) flashing a Cheshire cat grin at me you’d expect from the make-up artist who can turn a woman from drab to dreamy with a stroke of his brush. “I first noticed it driving down Kapahulu. I walked in and thought, ‘Wow! This is home!’” Indeed, home is where it all started for the Uncle Bo’s team. In fact, it was the goal of owners Bo Pathammavong and Ho Suk Lee to create an environment that welcomed guests by embracing them with a strong sense of family. Beginning with the staff, half of which is composed of family members, Uncle Bo’s is a true reflection of a total family effort. From Ho Suk’s wife, Koi, who greets you smiling at the door, to Bo’s Ray Romano look-alike brother, Noy, behind the bar, to Noy’s cheerful wife, Leigh, whose sweet demeanor will disarm you just long enough to talk you into some fried ice-cream for dessert, Uncle Bo’s makes going out to dinner like coming home for the holidays. “My favorite thing is to see people happy,” explains Bo, graciously. “You try to treat guests like you’re hosting a party at your house!” And it certainly is a beautiful house! With its clean lines and polished surfaces, the sleek, modern, yet inviting interior of the restaurant provides an understated glamour in its design that was the inspiration of Ho Suk’s sister, Hae Young Lee Cheong, whom herself was featured on HGTV’s Designer Finals. Even the paintings hanging in the back gallery are the cubist renderings of Leigh’s brother, Blaine Hong, who also works in the kitchen alongside Uncle Bo. “You can’t do it alone,” the Head Chef reminisces humbly. “There’s no ‘I’ in TEAM!” Humility seems to be a virtue that has served this dynamic duo well over the past two years. Both sons of immigrants, best friends, Bo and Ho Suk, truly personify the American dream by way of the grass-roots Hawaii small business owner.
Like any other successful entrepreneur, both started out working for other people, Bo, as Head Chef at Lewer’s Street Fish Company, before moving on to open The Ocean House at the Shore Bird in the Outrigger Reef Hotel in Waikiki, and Ho Suk at a family gas station. “No one’s happy to buy gas!” laughs the now proud owner and manager of Uncle Bo’s. “[Now] people come in expecting a good time. I like that!” Be it graduation parties, anniversaries, or first dates, it’s true people always seem to be celebrating something at Uncle Bo’s. Locally residing movie star, Jane Benny, recalls celebrating her husband’s birthday when the restaurant first opened. “It was an incredibly busy, fun-filled affair, an event that most restaurants would have found overwhelming, yet the staff at Bo’s maintained their cool and kept the drinks and food flowing! Bo even made my hubby a special dish, Escargot, which has since been added to the menu!”And what an eclectic menu it is! From dynamite shrimp, Thai-steamer clams, and hamachi carpaccio to baked Opah Mauna Kea, fire-seared prime rib, and BBQ chicken pizza, Bo and Ho Suk strived to create a collection of dishes which they themselves enjoy eating. Born in Laos, Bo owes a lot of his flavorful influence to his upbringing. Growing up surrounded by the exotic fragrances and spices of Thailand and Southeast Asia, he deftly incorporates Asian fusion with his Italian and Pacific Rim culinary training which he received later here in the islands. “Bo’s style is very instinctual,” raves Ho Suk. “Everything he creates has a taste to it so familiar to all of us from Hawaii because we’re all a blend of different cultures. I think that’s what makes it really unique.”Apparently he and his loyal crew of regulars are not the only ones that think so. Restaurant critic, Nadine Kam, of the Honolulu Star Bulletin gave Uncle Bo’s great reviews just three weeks after their grand opening, while Honolulu Magazine nominated them, “Best Bar for the Cool Kids!” referring to the throngs of up and coming professionals who flock to the modish establishment after work each evening. When asked what he’s most proud of, Ho Suk replies, “We created this restaurant without any paid advertising…only word of mouth!”Yet that seems to have been more than enough according to former patron turned waiter, Ross Kondo (26), “After the first time I came here, I was hooked! I fell in love with the place and I can’t stay away. Now I work here!” This kind of appreciation instilled contentment seems to be the overall consensus of both staff and guests at this humbly titled, Uncle Bo’s Pupu Bar and Grill. Just recently having celebrated their two year anniversary, one can only imagine the wonderful things in store for this absolutely unbeaten marriage of aloha and superb cuisine. “I know couples that are married to people they met at Bo’s!” Exclaims Ho Suk whimsically, “You never know the potential.” Actress Jane Benny puts it best, “Every restaurant serves food, not all of them serve it with love…I always leave with full belly and a warm heart!”
By: Alicia Yamachika
