Hawaiian Bros, an 83-unit fast-casual chain built around the Hawaiian plate lunch, generates average unit volumes of roughly $2.5 million — a figure CEO Scott Ford intends to lift to $3.5 million.

The Kansas City-based brand has expanded largely through franchising, with most of its locations concentrated in the Midwest. Ford, president and CEO, joined the company in 2019 when founders Tyler and Cameron McNie operated just three restaurants. He brought chain-restaurant experience from Applebee's and Boston Market to a concept that now sits among the higher-volume players in the emerging-chain ranks.

Ford laid out his growth thesis on the latest episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches. His strategy centers on driving sales within the four walls rather than relying on new-unit growth alone — through sharper marketing, operational changes and capacity planning.

The timing matters. Technomic's Top 500 data shows chain restaurant sales slowed again in 2025 as consumers pulled back on dining out. Yet segments including coffee, beverages, snacks and chicken kept growing. Hawaiian Bros' protein-forward plate lunch platform positions it adjacent to one of the industry's stronger-performing categories.

Ford's operating principles, drawn from the conversation, sketch how a small franchise system can grow check-level economics:

Differentiation beats routine. Customers today want something outside the routine, Ford argues. Hawaiian Bros' Hawaiian plate lunch — a category with limited chain competition in its Midwest markets — gives the brand a menu identity that does not depend on discounting.

Attitude shapes results. Ford credits positive attitudes, inside the organization and at the counter, as a driver of positive outcomes. For a largely franchised system, culture becomes an operating lever the franchisor can pull across 83 units it does not directly run.

Scrappy marketing wins guests. Rather than match the media budgets of national competitors, Hawaiian Bros gets scrappy in its marketing. For an emerging brand competing for share in markets dominated by larger chicken and fast-casual players, low-cost, high-creativity tactics are the realistic path to traffic.

Operational excellence unlocks AUV. The chain has made operational improvements specifically to handle increasing demand. Ford frames operational excellence as the mechanism that converts demand into higher average unit volumes — faster throughput and consistent execution at peak.

Capacity should outrun demand. Ford's rule: invite everyone to your party, then build capacity that outpaces demand. Restaurants that turn away peak-period customers cap their own volumes.

No honeymoon for new units. New restaurants should not expect a honeymoon period, Ford says — a stance that pushes franchisees toward day-one execution standards rather than leaning on opening buzz.

The jump from $2.5 million to $3.5 million in AUV — a 40% increase — would place Hawaiian Bros among the top tier of fast-casual volumes. Ford's bet is that throughput, capacity discipline and scrappy local marketing can get the system there without a fundamental change to the menu or the format.

If the brand executes on those four-walls economics while the chicken segment continues to outperform the broader industry, Hawaiian Bros' franchisees could see materially stronger returns on existing boxes before the next wave of new units opens.